Which of the following is an example of medicalization?

Medicalization refers to the process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as medical issues. This often involves the reclassification of behaviors, experiences, or conditions as medicalized phenomena requiring treatment or intervention.

In this context, categorizing nymphomania as a disease exemplifies medicalization, as it takes what may have traditionally been viewed as a social or psychological issue and frames it within a medical context requiring diagnosis and management by healthcare professionals. This perspective shifts the focus from personal or moral accountability to medical treatment, suggesting that this behavior is a pathological condition rather than a personal trait or lifestyle choice.

The other options, while they also pertain to the classification of conditions as illnesses, do not represent medicalization in the same way. For instance, classifying anxiety disorders and substance use disorders as illnesses acknowledges their medical aspect but does not capture the same historical or cultural context as the labeling of nymphomania, which historically has been heavily stigmatized and linked to societal perceptions of morality and control over women's sexuality. Defining obesity as a public health crisis recognizes societal and systemic factors affecting health but may not necessarily fall under the strict definition of medicalization as it relates to individual behaviors being medicalized.