With obesity now affecting 29% of the population in England, and expected to rise to 35% by 2030, should we now recognise it as a disease? Obesity, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be adversely affected, meets the dictionary definition of disease, argues Professor John Wilding. He points out that more than 200 genes influence weight. “Thus body weight is strongly influenced by biology—it is not an individual’s fault if they develop obesity.” Yet the widespread view is that obesity is self-induced and that it is entirely the individual’s responsibility to do something about it. Recognising obesity as a chronic disease with severe complications rather than a lifestyle choice “should help reduce the stigma (耻辱) and discrimination experienced by many people with obesity,” he adds.

       Professor Wilding disagrees that labelling a high proportion of the population as having a disease removes personal responsibility or may overwhelm health services, pointing out that other common diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, require people to take action to manage their condition. He suggests that most people with obesity will eventually develop complications. “But unless we accept that obesity is a disease, we are not going to be able to tackle it,” he concludes.

        But Dr. Richard Pile, a physician with a special interest in diabetes, argues that adopting this approach “could actually result in worse outcomes for individuals and society.” He believes that the dictionary definition of disease “is so vague that we can classify almost anything as a disease” and says the question is not whether we can, but whether we should, and to what end.

        If labelling obesity as a disease was harmless then it wouldn’t really matter, he writes. But labelling obesity as a disease “risks reducing autonomy, disempowering and robbing people of the intrinsic (内在的) motivation that is such an important enabler of change.” What’s more, making obesity a disease “may not benefit patients, but it will benefit healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical (制药的) industry when health insurance and clinical guidelines promote treatment with drugs and surgery,” he warns.

解析：D。根据题干中的popular view和obesity可定位至文章第一段第四句，其中popular view是对该句中widespread view的同义替换。该句提到，然而，普遍的观点认为，肥胖是自己造成的（self-induced），完全应该自己对此负责或者做些什么。D项与此内容相符，其中的a lack of self-control对应该句中的self-induced，故D项为正确答案。

错项排除：文章中虽然多次提到字典中对疾病的定义，但并没有提到肥胖很难定义，故A项排除。B项中的modern disease在文章中无依据，故排除。文章中怀尔丁教授认为影响体重的主要是基因和生物学因素，这并不是大众的普遍看法，故C项错误。