When a child is obese, do you think a parent should be charged with abuse of a child?

Should the child be taken away and put in foster care?

Should we blame the parents for the eating habits children have?

Do you think parents of malnurished kids and parents of obese kids should be treated the same?

greed is to blame!...education is key.

Joyinrepatition said:

greed is to blame!...education is key.

Hmm... so you're saying that children don't know when to stop and parents should teach them when to put down the fork?

What about lack of mobility? Video games kids play and the lifestyle that has changed in general?

indeed our long hot summer days of yesteryear are but a mear memory...kids are more into downloading the most recent zombies map, than discovering themselves...shame!

paintedlady said:

When a child is obese, do you think a parent should be charged with abuse of a child?

No

Should the child be taken away and put in foster care?

No

Should we blame the parents for the eating habits children have?

Somewhat, but not entirely. You can't expect a child to eat all this horrible tasting healthy food when they see you eating good food yourself and even if you were a health nut yourself and raised your child as one, once they get a taste of something that actually tastes good from someone else, that's the end of their health nut phase. They are going to go after the good stuff.

Do you think parents of malnurished kids and parents of obese kids should be treated the same?

No

obesity is just a more obvious problem than others. It is not the only one.

But even us skinny kids were imperfectly raised. Should social services have taken me from my parents because I have low self-esteem?

No.

1. The food is different. More hormones, more corn syrup. There may be physiological/biological reasons these kids consume more.

2. Bad food is cheaper and more convenient to eat.

3. Portion sizes are larger.

4. Junk food has always been marketed to kids, and there are even more ways to reach each kid directly.

5. Parents who both must work to make ends meet, and perhaps work longer, may not be monitoring what their kids eat at home.

6. Kids don't go out and play as much, and I think one reason is safety. People can't just leave their kids to go and play unsupervised like prior generations might have.

7. IIRC, Phys Ed programs in schools have been sharply cut in the last generation or so.

8. 2/3 of America is obese or getting there. The kids are a reflection of that.

9. What's the baseline for taking custody away? Some obese kids will not be as they mature.

We need to look at ourselves before we directly or indirectly punish our kids for anything. How We Do Things as a society is a major factor.

[Edited 5/24/11 15:36pm]

Obesity is partially genetics. If a big woman has a child with a big man, the child has a predisposition to be big. You can't look only at an obese child and be able to tell whether their obesity was learned, whether it's been that way all their life, or a combination of both factors (and it often is).

vainandy said:

paintedlady said:

When a child is obese, do you think a parent should be charged with abuse of a child?

No

Somewhat, but not entirely. You can't expect a child to eat all this horrible tasting healthy food when they see you eating good food yourself and even if you were a health nut yourself and raised your child as one, once they get a taste of something that actually tastes good from someone else, that's the end of their health nut phase. They are going to go after the good stuff.

Do you think parents of malnurished kids and parents of obese kids should be treated the same?

No

Ok I'm pissed at myself because I had great responses but hit the cancel button by mistake and lost everything. Andy kind of sums up how I feel about the issue anyway with his simple "nos".

I don't think parents should be punished nor families split apart. Some kids are overweight because their parents are and some kids can eat healthy food or unhealthy food and such diets would yield the same results either way because genetics play a factor in their physical makeup. What is needed is education about food choices and reprogramming our minds and palettes to eat that which will prolong our lives and reduce our chances for suffering some diet related disease. The fast food joints don't help, boxed and can foods filled with artificial this and that doesn't help, a suffering economy doesn't help, kids left alone at home all day doesn't help.

Also, I object to the notion that any fat kid is obese. What is obese in a child? I can tell in an adult but a kid is hard to say especially if that kid is active and still growing. A fat 11 year old may grown into a slim 17 year old. We need to stop putting so much pressure on kids anyway and just let them be. Bring back the arts and sports programs, teach them how to be better friends to one another and prepare them for life as adult, law abiding, tax paying citizens, teach them science and history and culture and the different religions of the world. Teach them about foods from across the globe and different forms of exercise. If you enhance their minds then they won't have an appetite for all those cheeseburgers, french fries, popeye's, chicken, ice cream sundaes with caramel sauce, cheese pizza, soda pop, potato chips dipped in ranch dressing, cream cheese muffins, chocolate milk shakes, strawberry lemonade, key lime pie, snickers, ding dongs, ho hos, and cigarettes.

I have a few options I'd like to ad to the poll:

Educate youself and your family about the importance of eating healthily and having an active lifestyle.

Take an active interest in what foods and drinks are being offered to your children in school every day. And whether or not physical fitness classes are a part of their curriculum.

Stop letting the TV and internet (with all those ads and images of high calorie, high fat, high suger, high salt, fast and junk foods) be your babysitter.

Contact your government officials and demand to know why the most unhealthy foods in the stores are the cheapest. And why supermarkets and food shops all across this great nation ours would rather price food so damn high that no one can buy it and then at the end of the day have their employees throw all this perfectly edible fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, etc... in a padlocked dumpster to be hauled off to rot in a landfill or incinerated when it could just as easily be donated or simply placed out back for the poor and homeless to collect.

Be kind, loving, respectful to the other beings you share the planet with.

And if all these fail you...

Mind your fucking business and stop judging people solely by the size of their waists or the girth of their asses.

And don't pretend you're concerned with obese people's physical wellness. Because it's obvious you are not. Whatever health problems you assume that obese person walking down the street has is just that. Your assuption. Unless you are their doctor or know that person intimately, you have know idea what's going on with them. The health of the skinny person standing next to them doesn't even cross your mind because you equate obesity with being unhealthy and thinness with being healthy. That skinny person can in all likelihood be sick with high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney failure, etc...

Talking about arresting people and throwing their kids into the system because of excess body fat is crazy talk. Some of you really need to get your priorities straight.

[Edited 5/24/11 16:41pm]

I was watching the Dr. Oz show... today's episode was on childhood obesity and how some states want to now treat childhood obesity as ABUSE.

I have mixed feeling on this because I also see many moms in my own family that allow their babies to drink Pepsi out of bottles. And I see more little babies in my family with rotten baby teeth and the babies are fed milk shakes to make them sleep more.... these babies are still fat at ages 3- 12.

namepeace brings up excellent points...

the food industry is misleading consumers... most sugary foods are marketed towards kids... bad foods are cheaper to buy and more readily available

kids are usually shuffled from school to some other after school program to anotyher and home cooked meals are usally a rarity.... meaning kids eat processed foods all day....

and yes, kids are more stationary... just like adults, resulting in fatter people.

I do think that poverty in America leads to obesity... many kids eats junk because decent produce is hard to afford and most whole foods are too expensive to buy... so its cheap breads filled with sugary PB&J's and hot dogs, chips and kool-aid as staple foods.

NDRU said:

obesity is just a more obvious problem than others. It is not the only one.

But even us skinny kids were imperfectly raised. Should social services have taken me from my parents because I have low self-esteem?

I wish you could have seen that show... I am scared for the welfare of children if they are ripped from their families just because they are too fat.

I can see why some would push for it even though I personally don't agree. With the growing rate of type 2 diabetes in children, I think its reached critical status now. Some parents purposely overfed their children because it makes them easier to handle, shoveling overly processed foods at them until you have a child that can barely walk and is breathing heavy just crossing the street. I see a lot of neat trim "moms" with waddling kids and it looks so wrong. Chunky or roly poly is one thing, I'm talking a sickly look that's disturbing. But no, child services don't need to get involved. Massive PSAs should be enough.

paintedlady said:

When a child is obese, do you think a parent should be charged with abuse of a child?

Should the child be taken away and put in foster care?

Should we blame the parents for the eating habits children have?

Do you think parents of malnurished kids and parents of obese kids should be treated the same?

When a child is obese, do you think a parent should be charged with abuse of a child?

no.

Should the child be taken away and put in foster care?

no.

Should we blame the parents for the eating habits children have?

yes and no. children eat what their parent(s) provide for them, one way or another, be it in the form of lunch money for the school cafeteria and snacks, or home cooked meals that are high in junky calories. if the child has poor eating habits the parents likely do too. children learn what they see everyday.

but, imo advertising forces are playing a huge role in the american way of over-consumption. in order to keep the gross national profit increasing annually, american consumers just have to keep eating more and buying more and embrace a 'more is better than less' mindset and lifestyle. we drive the economy so living large has become more than just a slogan. we are exposed to advertising constantly and confronted by marketing images everywhere. it's a not so subtle form of brainwashing.

moreover, there is too much pressure to be perfect these days. we look around at all of this advertising and see perfect people with perfect shiny smiles selling perfect lifestyles and part of our mind says ' i want to be perfect too' and the other part of our mind says 'i'll never look that way' but we can't resolve the conflict and so imo, people splinter off into eating disorders, one way or the other. either starve themselevs to be thin or passively rebel against perfection by overeating. i'm not an expert, mind you. just passing thoughts here

to sum up, i think the obesity epidemic is a very complex type of perfect storm. parents are not solely to blame.

Do you think parents of malnurished kids and parents of obese kids should be treated the same?

no, they face different challenges.

Excellent responses everyone... keep 'em coming, please!

XxaxX... excellent points on the marketing... I think kids would eat more healthy foods if the market promoted healthy healthy foods the same way they push sugary cereals and greasy fries and burgers to kids. You don't see cartoony characters on brocolli and carrots and much as you do on sugary cereals and snacks. Never mind that most kids drink only fruit juices and flavored milk in schools. They never serve water.

Nevermind availability.... it has become standard to make any activity a child does costly to the parents... any sport they play is getting expensive due to lack of funding in schools for sports programs. Good luck finding free ones... those fill up quick.

So most parents living in poverty stricken households have to rely on summer programs to get their kids some excercise in cold weather cities.... and the kids stay indoors all winter.

yanowha said:

I have a few options I'd like to ad to the poll:

Educate youself and your family about the importance of eating healthily and having an active lifestyle.

Take an active interest in what foods and drinks are being offered to your children in school every day. And whether or not physical fitness classes are a part of their curriculum.

Stop letting the TV and internet (with all those ads and images of high calorie, high fat, high suger, high salt, fast and junk foods) be your babysitter.

Contact your government officials and demand to know why the most unhealthy foods in the stores are the cheapest. And why supermarkets and food shops all across this great nation ours would rather price food so damn high that no one can buy it and then at the end of the day have their employees throw all this perfectly edible fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, etc... in a padlocked dumpster to be hauled off to rot in a landfill or incinerated when it could just as easily be donated or simply placed out back for the poor and homeless to collect.

Be kind, loving, respectful to the other beings you share the planet with.

And if all these fail you...

Mind your fucking business and stop judging people solely by the size of their waists or the girth of their asses.

And don't pretend you're concerned with obese people's physical wellness. Because it's obvious you are not. Whatever health problems you assume that obese person walking down the street has is just that. Your assuption. Unless you are their doctor or know that person intimately, you have know idea what's going on with them. The health of the skinny person standing next to them doesn't even cross your mind because you equate obesity with being unhealthy and thinness with being healthy. That skinny person can in all likelihood be sick with high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney failure, etc...

Talking about arresting people and throwing their kids into the system because of excess body fat is crazy talk. Some of you really need to get your priorities straight.

[Edited 5/24/11 16:41pm]

I apologize... I should have clarified my OP better.....

I was looking for YOUR answers to the questions. Your opinions to the questions... a poll taken to see responses.

You bring up good points, we are becoming a shallow society focused on outwardly appearances.

I didn't personalize your post since I do not recognize your handlename, so we never had any interaction before... I took the "You" as if you meant "society at large". The questions are just questions... not my personal opinions, but questions asked were based on the same questions asked on the Dr. Oz show.

can't spell edit

[Edited 5/24/11 18:01pm]

I think that each individual situation is different.

There are health problems that can cause a child (or adult) to be obese.

There are medications that can cause weight gain in children (and adults).

Some if it truly have to do with genetics. For instanceI know a woman who eats healthier than anyone I've met, doesn't have any serious health issues, doesn't take medication, and goes to the gym 3 times a week after work. And she ranks in at about 250. Her whole family is BIG. She's struggled all her life with her weight, and tried everything she could to take it off. She'll lose a few here or there, but never a drastic change. Therefore I do believe in genetics playing a part in being overweight, childhood and adulthood alike.

NOW. If there is a parent who feeds their child nothing but 'high risk' foods (by that I mean high in calories, fat, and sugar content) then that is a PROBLEM. That is irresponsible parenting and should be addressed. That is not healthy for adults, let alone children who are at a vital stage in their lives where they need the proper nutrients.

As for malnurished children, it's somewhat the same scenario.

There are health problems that can cause a child (or adult) to be underweight.

There are medications that can cause rapid weight loss in children (and adults).

I believe genetics do play some role in that as well. Some people have trouble keeping on weight, no matter what they do or eat.

If parents are feeding their children healthy foods at good portions and trying to suppliment what the child's body has trouble absorbing, or lacks, possibly with the help of a doctor or dietician, then I don't fault the parents. If they are giving their child less food than their body needs, or junk food that is causing this problem, then that should be where their parenting is addressed.

unless we can guilt every fat child into bulimia, we have failed as a society.

whistle said:

unless we can guilt every fat child into bulimia, we have failed as a society.

paintedlady said:

NDRU said:

obesity is just a more obvious problem than others. It is not the only one.

But even us skinny kids were imperfectly raised. Should social services have taken me from my parents because I have low self-esteem?

I wish you could have seen that show... I am scared for the welfare of children if they are ripped from their families just because they are too fat.

I might possibly understand extreme cases of obesity being seen as abusive (like the smoking baby), but even then, being obese is not against the law. It's not like giving children narcotics or teaching them to hurt animals.

Especially with the technical measurements for obesity. In most cases we're not talking about kids who are 500 pounds, so taking them from their parents would probably be worse for their overall health than a few extra pounds

Of course it's the parents' fault if a child isn't educated and raised to eat healthily, just like parents are mostly responsible for how their children behave, but in most cases the parents aren't educated enough in the first place. There's not much you can teach your child about food if you haven't got a clue yourself and are used to eating crap all the time.

This lack of information is, in my opinion, what causes the problems in many countries, including the U.S. Children eat unhealthy food, aren't encouraged to do proper sports and get fat because their parents did the same without being aware of it being completely wrong, unhealthy, dangerous and in my personal opinion often quite inelegant, distasteful and disgusting.

The point andy made about how a child would go for the "good" (unhealthy) stuff if it was offered to them is understandable, but I can only speak for myself. I never liked McDonald's, I never ate loads of sweets, and my parents were not fussy eaters at all. They educated me about what was healthy and what wasn't and mostly left me to decide what I wanted to eat.

[Edited 5/25/11 4:59am]

I have mixed feelings about this. I think that parents should be held accountable for what they feed their children, but schools need to stop serving the kids crap as well. The lack of proper exercise is also a factor. A lot of schools have abandoned physical education and gym class. I think this is a big mistake. Kids need to burn off energy, and the best way to get them to do that is to allow them time to get outside and GET PHYSICAL! They need to run and jump and climb and do all the physical things we baby boomers used to do. You didn't see so many overweight or obese kids back in the 50's & 60's because we didn't have computers and video games to keep us glued to the TV like canatonics. We were forced to go outside and play to keep from being bored to death. Plus, IT WAS FUN! In the summer time, you had to threaten kids with bodily harm to get them to come inside after dark.

But getting back on point about parents and children's eating habits, I think parents are accountable, but getting courts involved is a bit extreme. BUT, if a parent starves a child, that certainly is a felony, but what about parents who force their children to stuff themselves, bordering on one of those seven deadly sins, gluttony? I remember watching a coworker stuff her baby's mouth with hot dogs. We were at a picnic, and she sat her child on a blanket and proceeded to break off bits of a hot dog and stuff them in the child's mouth. Mind you, the mama was already a wildebeest, and I could see that by the time her child reached 2-3 years old, she was heading for a nickname of "baby Huey" or "Jumbo." I would love to see what that child looks like now because that was over 20 years ago.

I'd rather a parent be sent to jail for physically and psychologically abusing their child or abandoning them; not for feeding the kid ice cream at 9pm.