The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and increased rating due to additional development being needed. Obesity is not a disability subject to service connection, but may be secondary to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's MDD is rated at 70 percent. Additional VA examinations are required to determine if obesity is caused or aggravated by his service-connected back disability, and if so, whether DM, ED, gout, or sleep apnea are also caused or aggravated by obesity.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's obesity may be secondary to his service-connected back disability and other non-service connected conditions. Additional medical opinions are needed to determine the relationship between obesity and the claimed disabilities (DM, ED, gout, and sleep apnea).
- Claimed conditions
- obesity, major depressive disorder (MDD), gout, Type II diabetes mellitus (DM), erectile dysfunction (ED), sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19166967
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19166967.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
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