A “disease” or “medical condition” is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and signs.
The key word is abnormal. If something is naturally common in humans, and doesn’t impair any bodily functions, it shouldn’t really count as a “disease”. Like being short, as a matter of fact.
FDA has these views, as they only approve treatment of people with specific shortness-causing disorders, or within 1.2% of most extreme shortness (which is highly atypical). If people pursuing height expand this band to bottom 50% of current population, or bottom 80% of historical record, and redefine it as an illness, then it will be a lie, as a matter of fact.
Even better case is premature ejaculation, which is estimated to “affect” 30%-70% of American males. It doesn’t impair any bodily functions. So it’s factually incorrect to claim it’s an illness.
Re: premature ejaculation, see The sooner the better. There is excellent therapy for those who desire it, but ironically the SSRI’s that work so effectively to delay ejaculation were developed to treat depression, for which their effectiveness is the same as placebo. Yet, they are FDA-approved for treatment of the latter, not the former.
within 1.2% of most extreme shortness (which is highly atypical)
There always are the 1.2% shortest people. We’d end up making the whole population infinitely tall :-) They should define it as “at least X deviations below mean”. I would support that.
Cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes affect way more than 1.2% of the population, and no one has ever had any trouble defining them as illnesses.
One is never ill in general. One is always ill in relation to some activity. It is not cancer that makes me ill. It is because I cannot work, or run, or swallow that I am ill with cancer. The loss of function, the obstruction of activity, cannot in itself destroy my health.
I am too heavy to fly by flapping my wings, but I do not complain of being sick with weight. But if I desired to be a model, jockey, or dancer, I would consider excess weight a disease I would like to be cured of.
Wikipedia says:
The key word is abnormal. If something is naturally common in humans, and doesn’t impair any bodily functions, it shouldn’t really count as a “disease”. Like being short, as a matter of fact.
FDA has these views, as they only approve treatment of people with specific shortness-causing disorders, or within 1.2% of most extreme shortness (which is highly atypical). If people pursuing height expand this band to bottom 50% of current population, or bottom 80% of historical record, and redefine it as an illness, then it will be a lie, as a matter of fact.
Even better case is premature ejaculation, which is estimated to “affect” 30%-70% of American males. It doesn’t impair any bodily functions. So it’s factually incorrect to claim it’s an illness.
Re: premature ejaculation, see The sooner the better. There is excellent therapy for those who desire it, but ironically the SSRI’s that work so effectively to delay ejaculation were developed to treat depression, for which their effectiveness is the same as placebo. Yet, they are FDA-approved for treatment of the latter, not the former.
There always are the 1.2% shortest people. We’d end up making the whole population infinitely tall :-) They should define it as “at least X deviations below mean”. I would support that.
Cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes affect way more than 1.2% of the population, and no one has ever had any trouble defining them as illnesses.
Carse, Finite and Infinite Games, 3.56