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：A。根据题干中的opposed to labelling obesity as a disease可定位至原文第二段。根据第一段可知，怀尔丁教授赞成将肥胖列为疾病，接着第二段提到怀尔丁教授不同意的即反对者的观点：将大部分人贴上疾病标签会使消除个人的责任，或者可能使医疗服务不堪重负。由此可知，人们反对将肥胖列为疾病是因为担心这样会消除个人的责任或者医疗服务不堪重负。A项与此内容相符，其中的would not feel responsible to take any action对应第二段第一句中的removes personal responsibility，故B项为正确答案。需要注意本题并没有直接提出有人opposed to labelling obesity as a disease，需要结合怀尔丁教授的观点推断出人们反对将肥胖列为疾病的原因。

错项排除：文章中虽然提到医疗服务（health services）不堪重负，医疗服务机构（healthcare providers）会受益，但并没有提到肥胖症可能负担不起费用，故B项排除。C项利用第二段第一句中的overwhelm进行干扰，但文章是说医疗服务不堪重负（overwhelm），并不是肥胖者会被焦虑压垮，故C项排除。D项利用第一段最后一句中的discrimination进行干扰，但文章说的是怀尔丁教授的观点：将肥胖列为疾病可以减少歧视，并不是造成歧视，故D项错误。