CHICAGO (AP) — Should parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids' weight? A provocative commentary in one of the nation's most distinguished medical journals argues yes, and its authors are joining a quiet chorus of advocates who say the government should be allowed to intervene in extreme cases.

It has happened a few times in the U.S., and the opinion piece in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association says putting children temporarily in foster care is in some cases more ethical than obesity surgery.

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children's Hospital Boston, said the point isn't to blame parents, but rather to act in children's best interest and get them help that for whatever reason their parents can't provide.

State intervention "ideally will support not just the child but the whole family, with the goal of reuniting child and family as soon as possible. That may require instruction on parenting," said Ludwig, who wrote the article with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and a researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health.

"Despite the discomfort posed by state intervention, it may sometimes be necessary to protect a child," Murtagh said.

But University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan said he worries that the debate risks putting too much blame on parents. Obese children are victims of advertising, marketing, peer pressure and bullying — things a parent can't control, he said.

"If you're going to change a child's weight, you're going to have to change all of them," Caplan said.

Roughly 2 million U.S. children are extremely obese. Most are not in imminent danger, Ludwig said. But some have obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and liver problems that could kill them by age 30. It is these kids for whom state intervention, including education, parent training, and temporary protective custody in the most extreme cases, should be considered, Ludwig said.

While some doctors promote weight-loss surgery for severely obese teens, Ludwig said it hasn't been used for very long in adolescents and can have serious, sometimes life-threatening complications.

"We don't know the long-term safety and effectiveness of these procedures done at an early age," he said.

Ludwig said he starting thinking about the issue after a 90-pound 3-year-old girl came to his obesity clinic several years ago. Her parents had physical disabilities, little money and difficulty controlling her weight. Last year, at age 12, she weighed 400 pounds and had developed diabetes, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

"Out of medical concern, the state placed this girl in foster care, where she simply received three balanced meals a day and a snack or two and moderate physical activity," he said. After a year, she lost 130 pounds. Though she is still obese, her diabetes and apnea disappeared; she remains in foster care, he said.

In a commentary in the medical journal BMJ last year, London pediatrician Dr. Russell Viner and colleagues said obesity was a factor in several child protection cases in Britain. They argued that child protection services should be considered if parents are neglectful or actively reject efforts to control an extremely obese child's weight.

A 2009 opinion article in Pediatrics made similar arguments. Its authors said temporary removal from the home would be warranted "when all reasonable alternative options have been exhausted."

That piece discussed a 440-pound 16-year-old girl who developed breathing problems from excess weight and nearly died at a University of Wisconsin hospital. Doctors discussed whether to report her family for neglect. But they didn't need to, because her medical crisis "was a wake-up call" for her family, and the girl ended up losing about 100 pounds, said co-author Dr. Norman Fost, a medical ethicist at the university's Madison campus.

State intervention in obesity "doesn't necessarily involve new legal requirements," Ludwig said. Health care providers are required to report children who are at immediate risk, and that can be for a variety of reasons, including neglect, abuse and what doctors call "failure to thrive." That's when children are severely underweight.

Jerri Gray, a Greenville, S.C., single mother who lost custody of her 555-pound 14-year-old son two years ago, said authorities don't understand the challenges families may face in trying to control their kids' weight.

"I was always working two jobs so we wouldn't end up living in ghettos," Gray said. She said she often didn't have time to cook, so she would buy her son fast food. She said she asked doctors for help for her son's big appetite but was accused of neglect.

Her sister has custody of the boy, now 16. The sister has the money to help him with a special diet and exercise, and the boy has lost more than 200 pounds, Gray said.

"Even though good has come out of this as far as him losing weight, he told me just last week, 'Mommy, I want to be back with you so bad.' They've done damage by pulling us apart," Gray said.

Stormy Bradley, an Atlanta mother whose overweight 14-year-old daughter is participating in a Georgia advocacy group's "Stop Childhood Obesity" campaign, said she sympathizes with families facing legal action because of their kids' weight.

Healthier food often costs more, and trying to monitor kids' weight can be difficult, especially when they reach their teens and shun parental control, Bradley said. But taking youngsters away from their parents "definitely seems too extreme," she said.

Dr. Lainie Ross, a medical ethicist at the University of Chicago, said: "There's a stigma with state intervention. We just have to do it with caution and humility and make sure we really can say that our interventions are going to do more good than harm."

Forget about getting to the root problem within the family itself and then focusing on rehabilitation, then, huh? Mmm, mmm, mmm

Ottensen said:

Forget about getting to the root problem within the family itself and then focusing on rehabilitation, then, huh? Mmm, mmm, mmm

Right?! Seems extreme to me and yet more government intervention in people's private lives.

The Government SHOULD 1st and foremost, do something about the QUALITY of allowed food sorces

Machaela said:

The Government SHOULD 1st and foremost, do something about the QUALITY of allowed food sorces

I agree.

Child Protective Services has enough trouble trying to keep kids safe from physical and mental abuse and sexual assault, now this?

Obesity in children is a symptom of a larger problem. Focus on the larger problem and keep families intact.

Healthier food costs more than what? Value menu fast food? I don't understand that comment at all. Healthier food DOES NOT COST MORE if you are taking the time to make the food yourself. Not only can it cost less, but it can also last longer. If you buy luxory name brand "health foods" because they've fooled you into believing they're "good for you", then yeah, that costs more. But eating whole, natural foods is NOT expensive.

In regards to should they? I don't know. I want to say education, education, education! Which is the one thing the governemnt continues to spend too little on. But even the most intelligent and well-educated people still do stupid shit. I guess it would have to be a case by case basis for me. Like, do they really take the time to get to know the family and figure out why the child is being given so much food, or do they just see a fat kid and react? In the end, though, if they child is in danger its certainly better to try and fix their health problems now. Because they'll only get worse as they get older.

What is the root or the larger problem, though? They can't make a parent give a child less food. The options are to remove the parent or remove the child.

"Machaela said:

The Government SHOULD 1st and foremost, do something about the QUALITY of allowed food sorces"

Could you expand on that? What else could they possibly do? There is already so much information out there being thrown around about food that most people just say, "ah screw it, I'm gonna die someday anyway", and ignore it.

Machaela said:

The Government SHOULD 1st and foremost, do something about the QUALITY of allowed food sorces

hear hear

I want bans on sodium nitrates, HFCS, hydrogenised veg oils etc

I'd love to give my kid a sandwich that DOESN'T contain a mountain of salt

Cerebus said:

Healthier food costs more than what? Value menu fast food? I don't understand that comment at all. Healthier food DOES NOT COST MORE if you are taking the time to make the food yourself. Not only can it cost less, but it can also last longer. If you buy luxory name brand "health foods" because they've fooled you into believing they're "good for you", then yeah, that costs more. But eating whole, natural foods is NOT expensive.

In regards to should they? I don't know. I want to say education, education, education! Which is the one thing the governemnt continues to spend too little on. But even the most intelligent and well-educated people still do stupid shit. I guess it would have to be a case by case basis for me. Like, do they really take the time to get to know the family and figure out why the child is being given so much food, or do they just see a fat kid and react? In the end, though, if they child is in danger its certainly better to try and fix their health problems now. Because they'll only get worse as they get older.

What is the root or the larger problem, though? They can't make a parent give a child less food. The options are to remove the parent or remove the child.

"Machaela said:

The Government SHOULD 1st and foremost, do something about the QUALITY of allowed food sorces"

Could you expand on that? What else could they possibly do? There is already so much information out there being thrown around about food that most people just say, "ah screw it, I'm gonna die someday anyway", and ignore it.

yes too much, we are swimming in conflicting reports and recommendations

I would also like to agree that fresh produce is the cheapest thing you can buy.

i don't think parents should lose custody of their obese children. MAYBE if the entire family is existing on the government's dime. if they are on food stamps and medicare/medicaid, if they are completely dependent on government dole money and obesity-related health issues are costing taxpayers big buck$$$ then maybe it makes sense to intervene and prevent childhood obesity-related health issues from becoming an expensive problem we all have to pay for farther down the road. addiction to food should likely be treated the same way an addiction to drugs is treated.

then again, who wants to give uncle sam even more power to meddle in the lives of american citizens

[Edited 7/14/11 3:51am]

This makes no sense whatsoever. So if parents of obese children should lose custody then what about adults who are overweight weighing 400 pounds or more? You going to throw them in jail for eating too damn much and not exercising?

Well if they did half the american population would lose custody of their child

children are taken from their parents when those children are considered to be unsafe in the custody of those parents.

obesity in children is a form of parental neglect which can shorten the life of their child, drastically.

cant tell me they dont know the difference between good healthy food and vile fattening food. of course they do.

put those children in better care until thier so-called parents understand what good parenting is.

deliberate prolongued manslaughter is not good parenting. obviously.

Cerebus said:

Healthier food costs more than what? Value menu fast food? I don't understand that comment at all. Healthier food DOES NOT COST MORE if you are taking the time to make the food yourself. Not only can it cost less, but it can also last longer. If you buy luxory name brand "health foods" because they've fooled you into believing they're "good for you", then yeah, that costs more. But eating whole, natural foods is NOT expensive.

As a mother of 3 and a fat heffa I will answer.......

In what neighborhood is ramen noodles and Kool-aid more expensive than whole wheat pasta and real fruit?

You obliviously know shit about what is available in most grocery stores... I am finding it increasingly more dificult to by fruit, whole grain bread, fresh meats and poultry.

In the hood the meat is SHIT! It stinks and the better and healthier cuts of meat like chicken breast starts at 4.99/lb. compared to leg quarters @ 1.99/lb ... so what would you buy if you only have 100.00 bucks in your purse?

Most moms buy juices on sale instead of fruit because fruit prices are RIDICULOUS.... unless you only buy bananas. Shit I am now too fucking broke to pay 10.00 muckafucking dollars for a bunch of fucking grapes. And a mango for 4 dollars???? WTF!!!

Frozen veggies are cheaper and the only value a mom can buy, but fresh produce is only cheap when its in season... here, that is ONLY in the late summer, early fall.

Cage free eggs compared to regular eggs full of hormones and bacteria?

Soy milk compared to whole milk in price?

Whole grain bread compared to shit white bread in price?

How about a lean cut of steak compared to some shit hamburger meat that's 60% meat byproduct?

Ever been to a fish market? How much is the fucking tuna, haddock, cod, shrimp.... ?

NOPE! Its cheaper to buy cheap fucking nasty ass breaded fish sticks by the bag... FULL OF SODIUM.

Even the fucking flour that's whole wheat, Basmanti rice, olive oil, are much more expensive than their cheaper less healthy counter parts.... short grain white rice, white flour, corn oil.... so this is WHY kids are fat.

On a budget, fat ass people AND children eat shit like ramen noodles and drink kool-aid and or water, NO FIBER, NO VEGGIES, NO WHOLE GRAIN ANYTHING!!! Fat kids mainly eat cheap white bread, hot dogs, bologna, peanut butter n jelly, spaghetti.... mostly white breads and gluten rich foods which are shit and are purposefully cheap. Add soda because fruit juices are very expensive and now you got a recipe for fat kids.

I am so frustrated at dumb fucks that think heatly foods are cheaper, healthy foods are more expensive in comparison to their unheatlier overprocessed counterparts that are usually laced with tons of corn syrup, MSG, sodium, gluten......

look in the grocery store... I can't even but the no-name brands anymore because they have become popular and even the damn no-name brands are more expensive.

I do my best and feed my kids the healthiest food possible, but I can not buy as much as I can if I choose the healthier products so I understand why many parents choose shit products to feed their kids.... its just cheaper.

OK rant over... I am sick of spending over 700.00 a month to feed my kids decent food. FUCK!

It definitely costs more to buy healthy foods.

You can feed a kid for $0.97 by giving him a can of Chef Boyardee spaghtetti & meatballs...or feed that kid for $9.70 by buying the organic, glutten-free pasta, organic tomatoes to make the sauce, virgin olive oil, free range beef for the meatballs, etc., etc., etc.

With money becoming more of an issue for me now, I find myself buying more and more crap that fits my wallet as opposed to what I really want to feed them. A Banquet frozen meal (take your pick; chicken nuggets, meatloaf, BBQ pork, etc.) is less than A DOLLAR at Target. It's full of sodium and preservatives and all that other crap, but hey...at least it fills the fridge.

As for the original post;

It's definitely an issue that warrants much consideration.

On ONE hand, there is a vested interest in any society to care for the well-being of its young. These youngsters will, after all, be running the show in a few decades.

On the OTHER hand, there's the whole "freedom" issue. The government really shouldn't be telling me, as a free citizen, what I can and cannot feed my children. In fact - personally - I believe that it's the WORST that could happen. Once you tell someone that they are FORBIDDEN from doing something (example; alcohol) then people are almost inspired to do so out of spite (example; teenage drinking).

Also - what defines "abuse"?

I would say that a 550lb 14 year old definitely borders on having suffered "abuse". Those FIVE HUNDRED pounds didn't get on him by themselves. But then again, that's my opinion. Look at how heated the Org gets when we discuss spanking...some consider it abuse, some don't. If you give me the pulpit, I will argue that sitting a child in front of the TV all day is a form of abuse. Who's to say I'm wrong?

It's all a big mess.

What is indisputable is that - no matter your parental style or preferences - when the child grows up to be a healthy, well-adjusted, respectable human being (no matter his pant size), then you've done your job as a parent.

And don't forget the role that socio-economics play in the availability of quality food and decent prices. Studies have shown that poor people in the hood pay more for the most inferior quality of food and that urban grocery stores offer fewer healthy choices at higher prices when compared to the suburbs.

thisisit said:

children are taken from their parents when those children are considered to be unsafe in the custody of those parents.

obesity in children is a form of parental neglect which can shorten the life of their child, drastically.

cant tell me they dont know the difference between good healthy food and vile fattening food. of course they do.

put those children in better care until thier so-called parents understand what good parenting is.

deliberate prolongued manslaughter is not good parenting. obviously.

Let's put things in perspective shall we?

These are my kids, they are considered overweight by my doctor's standards as pictured.... If they gain 20 lbs they will be obese... so I should have my kids taken away from me because I am deliberately trying to kill my kids slowly?

[img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/matthewpark.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/Niapark1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Yeah, take away people's kids instead of teaching them to feed their kids in healthier ways.... I am sure you would be first to volunteer to feed and raise and love other people's children.

paintedlady said:

thisisit said:

children are taken from their parents when those children are considered to be unsafe in the custody of those parents.

obesity in children is a form of parental neglect which can shorten the life of their child, drastically.

cant tell me they dont know the difference between good healthy food and vile fattening food. of course they do.

put those children in better care until thier so-called parents understand what good parenting is.

deliberate prolongued manslaughter is not good parenting. obviously.

Let's put things in perspective shall we?

These are my kids, they are considered overweight by my doctor's standards as pictured.... If they gain 20 lbs they will be obese... so I should have my kids taken away from me because I am deliberately trying to kill my kids slowly?

[img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/matthewpark.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/Niapark1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Yeah, take away people's kids instead of teaching them to feed their kids in healthier ways.... I am sure you would be first to volunteer to feed and raise and love other people's children.

your doctor is an idiot.

i'm talking about OBESITY where a childs health and the length of their life is at risk.

i repeat, your doctor is an idiot.

if you want to cost of food to sky rocket then lobby to ban these additives.

you know they do something to a chicken to make it 4 to 5 pounds in a third of the time it would take naturaly? Might there be so risk? Yeah... but it also slashed the price. Sometimes I do not have the $3 extra to get the organic chicken...

same with all the other things people do not want in their food... well if you do not like thoese things then do not buy them.

[Edited 7/14/11 6:54am]

thisisit said:

paintedlady said:

Let's put things in perspective shall we?

These are my kids, they are considered overweight by my doctor's standards as pictured.... If they gain 20 lbs they will be obese... so I should have my kids taken away from me because I am deliberately trying to kill my kids slowly?

[img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/matthewpark.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/Niapark1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Yeah, take away people's kids instead of teaching them to feed their kids in healthier ways.... I am sure you would be first to volunteer to feed and raise and love other people's children.

your doctor is an idiot.

i'm talking about OBESITY where a childs health and the length of their life is at risk.

i repeat, your doctor is an idiot.

Yes, but my idiot Dr can have a 51A written up on me and make a claim of "neglect" over the weight issue.

You see, if my kids are "fat" then where the hell is the standard for "obese"? What is obese?

Don't get me wrong, I know what you mean to say (you speak or huge rolly polly kids that can't breathe right) ... I am Latino and I grew up around a 5 year old that weighed over 100 lbs... but mom was depressed and abused and she had no bad intention towards her child, instead she got therapy and her daughter picked up healthier ways to eat.

BUT- its these doctors that have these charts that call kids like mine FAT/OVERWEIGHT... its ridiculous! And do you know my son was underweight when he was younger, the same doctor recommened that I feed him lots of butter and starchy foods rich in gluten to have him make weight at the scale. The dumb bitch actually cares nothing of my son's heart health or his liver from all the steriods she had my son on because of his asthma.

Yeah, I have a new doctor.... but she's an idiot just like the last one. I swear these pediatricians are so full of

But to the point...

I honestly believe kids will be traumatized if they are ripped from their homes, and most morbidly obese kids eat because they are abused... so to me eating is only a symptom of a much deeper problem. Taking kids away from home will only cause them to take on other bad habits or increase the problem because most fat kids are emotional eaters. IMHO

Why should parents be punished because their kids have slow metabolisms?

paintedlady said:

thisisit said:

your doctor is an idiot.

i'm talking about OBESITY where a childs health and the length of their life is at risk.

i repeat, your doctor is an idiot.

Yes, but my idiot Dr can have a 51A written up on me and make a claim of "neglect" over the weight issue.

You see, if my kids are "fat" then where the hell is the standard for "obese"? What is obese?

Don't get me wrong, I know what you mean to say (you speak or huge rolly polly kids that can't breathe right) ... I am Latino and I grew up around a 5 year old that weighed over 100 lbs... but mom was depressed and abused and she had no bad intention towards her child, instead she got therapy and her daughter picked up healthier ways to eat.

BUT- its these doctors that have these charts that call kids like mine FAT/OVERWEIGHT... its ridiculous! And do you know my son was underweight when he was younger, the same doctor recommened that I feed him lots of butter and starchy foods rich in gluten to have him make weight at the scale. The dumb bitch actually cares nothing of my son's heart health or his liver from all the steriods she had my son on because of his asthma.

Yeah, I have a new doctor.... but she's an idiot just like the last one. I swear these pediatricians are so full of

But to the point...

I honestly believe kids will be traumatized if they are ripped from their homes, and most morbidly obese kids eat because they are abused... so to me eating is only a symptom of a much deeper problem. Taking kids away from home will only cause them to take on other bad habits or increase the problem because most fat kids are emotional eaters. IMHO

Not to mention that most of those charts don't take physical differences based on race into consideration, which DO exist. So often it's hard for kids who are not white to fit within those parameters no matter how hard they try.

When I danced on the drill team in high school I failed weekly weigh ins regularly cuz I just wasn't as skinny as the white girls on the team, even though I was a size 4 at the time. When you don't make weight you don't dance. So of course lots of them had all kinds of eating disorders.

[Edited 7/14/11 7:41am]

paintedlady said:

thisisit said:

children are taken from their parents when those children are considered to be unsafe in the custody of those parents.

obesity in children is a form of parental neglect which can shorten the life of their child, drastically.

cant tell me they dont know the difference between good healthy food and vile fattening food. of course they do.

put those children in better care until thier so-called parents understand what good parenting is.

deliberate prolongued manslaughter is not good parenting. obviously.

Let's put things in perspective shall we?

These are my kids, they are considered overweight by my doctor's standards as pictured.... If they gain 20 lbs they will be obese... so I should have my kids taken away from me because I am deliberately trying to kill my kids slowly?

[img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/matthewpark.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/Niapark1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Yeah, take away people's kids instead of teaching them to feed their kids in healthier ways.... I am sure you would be first to volunteer to feed and raise and love other people's children.

your kids are NOT overweight AT ALL!!

I do not think the govt. should be taking kids away from their parents because they are overweight. I will admit sometimes I see extremely heavy kids and think....something should be done....what that is...I don't know.

paintedlady said:

These are my kids,

[img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/matthewpark.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc99/gataloca_bucket/Niapark1.jpg[/img:$uid]

God bless 'em!

Painted: OMG...they are so precious!!!! But its so surprise.....they are your kids. You are one of the greatest moms I know.

Now.....first I will say that the article points to extreme cases. If they were to draft a law, would it require that the 3 year old must be 100lbs or more? When I see a 3 year old that is too fat to walk, I say the caretaker is probably a little fucked in the head and needs help learning how to properly care for the child. They are usually training the child to be an obese person. Its the same way I feel when I see children who always have ringworm, lice, or who are ill tempered, just have no self control or social skills--they are not born like that, its been taught.

Our school cafeterias feed nothing but junk and around here, a newstory recently broke that the processed foods they are feeding are kids often are past the expiration date. Its all fries, pizzas, subs, fruit that is of bad or low quality etc. In private school, my children had salads, soups, healthy breads, fresh veggies and fruits--the families in private obviously have the money. Fresh produce here is often very expensive, and low income families, if they don't follow the food truck around the city, cannot afford the vegetables. Usually in the summer there are more options, but in the winter, good luck affording fresh produce.

I have been blessed in that I am able to afford to give my children healthy foods for all of their lives, but make no mistake, I often gasp at the price of things as it goes into my cart. I had an $8 bunch of grapes that wasn't very big, a $5 container of strawberries, a bag of Salad greens is often about $4, blueberries are $4 to $5 for the tiniest carton, blackberries and rasberries are so highly priced that I have all but stopped eating them--half the size of the tiny blueberry carton for the same price. Even a head of friggin iceberg lettuce is close to $2....and its not one store, its all of them. Its appalling. The over processed foods that have little nutritional value give far more bang for your buck.

Now, if I had a $400 lb 10 year old, I do feel that in many cases, the child cant eat junk if you dont stock it in the fridge. I've seen some friends with obese kids who can afford the better food, and we've been over and they offer nothing but soda, chips, pizza, instant this, istant that etc. My child once told me she prefers to eat before going there.....they dont even buy fruit and made fun of my daughter for eating differently.

Some changes need to be made, but I dont feel we need to give government more power over our families

Still you are too kind.

Thanks you guys, I recieve the blessings I try my best to do good by them.

It is a major concern for parents on a tight budget that have to feed and keep their kids active.

My son was on steroids, his metabolism is shot to hell... I have to keep his butt running if I want him moobless. I am a Rican and my peeps have a rice and bean habit that fattens you up with the quickness too.

You know its getting harder to keep kids moving, you are hard pressed now a days to find worthwile programs and sports that do not break the bank. I have my son on a yacht this week .... he's loving it, raised a 1000lb sail, and earned his sea legs and did lots of stuff he was scared to do on the Roseway.... but I am lucky, VERY lucky to live in the area that I do where affordale and good programs are everywhere for the kids. Many areas lack programs or the affordable ones are just well..... ghetto and are overrun with ill behaved little thugs. Its not like yesteryear when I grew up... my mom left me unsupervised ALL the time. I walked everywhere and soaked up the sun and just did stupid stuff. Heck, everybody's kids ran the streets just like I did and a few of us got shot.... but there were no fat kids at all! Well, except one fat kid, we called him John-John because he was twice as big as the rest of us.

There's always one fatty in the crowd. But that's the thing, John-John was always running and as active as the rest of us. He ate more hotdogs and drank more Kool-aid sure..... but he was healthy and tore us a new ass in kick ball, basketball, and stick ball.

Like Shorty said, I wouldn't know what is best with a really fat kid, other than take the child and the mom to a therapist and nutritionist to help mom out with the diet plan... but to rip them from their home? I don't see how that could help. What will they do, make the poor fat kid move in an abusive situation of mental abuse, "No you can not eat that! Can't you see you are fat? Put that cookie down! Why do you always want to eat? You are too big and you will DIE if you eat another donut! Now give me 20 push ups fatso!"

paintedlady said:

thisisit said:

your doctor is an idiot.

i'm talking about OBESITY where a childs health and the length of their life is at risk.

i repeat, your doctor is an idiot.

Yes, but my idiot Dr can have a 51A written up on me and make a claim of "neglect" over the weight issue.

You see, if my kids are "fat" then where the hell is the standard for "obese"? What is obese?

Don't get me wrong, I know what you mean to say (you speak or huge rolly polly kids that can't breathe right) ... I am Latino and I grew up around a 5 year old that weighed over 100 lbs... but mom was depressed and abused and she had no bad intention towards her child, instead she got therapy and her daughter picked up healthier ways to eat.

BUT- its these doctors that have these charts that call kids like mine FAT/OVERWEIGHT... its ridiculous! And do you know my son was underweight when he was younger, the same doctor recommened that I feed him lots of butter and starchy foods rich in gluten to have him make weight at the scale. The dumb bitch actually cares nothing of my son's heart health or his liver from all the steriods she had my son on because of his asthma.

Yeah, I have a new doctor.... but she's an idiot just like the last one. I swear these pediatricians are so full of

But to the point...

I honestly believe kids will be traumatized if they are ripped from their homes, and most morbidly obese kids eat because they are abused... so to me eating is only a symptom of a much deeper problem. Taking kids away from home will only cause them to take on other bad habits or increase the problem because most fat kids are emotional eaters. IMHO

emotional problems vs early death. lets pander to the childs emotional needs before addressing the looming threat to their actual life life. hmm.

i'm amazed at how many folks are willing to be diplomatic and 'find other solutions' when the only solution is to remove the children from the people who are giving them that food.

i've read the article. educating the parents is on the list, like they dont know right from wrong already.

2011 and so many people with their heads in the sand, so apathetic about everything, always blaming someone else.

if anyone here has morbidly obese children, i hope they seriously think about what they're doing to their kids.

and dont blame it on 'the food they get at school etc' - not everyone's children are fat. apart from genetic factors, why would that be?

by the way, there's no way anyone would take your kids from you. they are normal healthy children and if ur worried about what your idiot doctor is saying then find another one who knows what they are talking about.

you're in control of the situation, not anyone else.

parents of obese children are supposed to be in control of their situation but they wont do anything about it. thats why authorities are debating whether or not to step in.

thisisit said:

paintedlady said:

Yes, but my idiot Dr can have a 51A written up on me and make a claim of "neglect" over the weight issue.

You see, if my kids are "fat" then where the hell is the standard for "obese"? What is obese?

Don't get me wrong, I know what you mean to say (you speak or huge rolly polly kids that can't breathe right) ... I am Latino and I grew up around a 5 year old that weighed over 100 lbs... but mom was depressed and abused and she had no bad intention towards her child, instead she got therapy and her daughter picked up healthier ways to eat.

BUT- its these doctors that have these charts that call kids like mine FAT/OVERWEIGHT... its ridiculous! And do you know my son was underweight when he was younger, the same doctor recommened that I feed him lots of butter and starchy foods rich in gluten to have him make weight at the scale. The dumb bitch actually cares nothing of my son's heart health or his liver from all the steriods she had my son on because of his asthma.

Yeah, I have a new doctor.... but she's an idiot just like the last one. I swear these pediatricians are so full of

But to the point...

I honestly believe kids will be traumatized if they are ripped from their homes, and most morbidly obese kids eat because they are abused... so to me eating is only a symptom of a much deeper problem. Taking kids away from home will only cause them to take on other bad habits or increase the problem because most fat kids are emotional eaters. IMHO

emotional problems vs early death. lets pander to the childs emotional needs before addressing the looming threat to their actual life life. hmm.

i'm amazed at how many folks are willing to be diplomatic and 'find other solutions' when the only solution is to remove the children from the people who are giving them that food.

i've read the article. educating the parents is on the list, like they dont know right from wrong already.

2011 and so many people with their heads in the sand, so apathetic about everything, always blaming someone else.

if anyone here has morbidly obese children, i hope they seriously think about what they're doing to their kids.

and dont blame it on 'the food they get at school etc' - not everyone's children are fat. apart from genetic factors, why would that be?

by the way, there's no way anyone would take your kids from you. they are normal healthy children and if ur worried about what your idiot doctor is saying then find another one who knows what they are talking about.

you're in control of the situation, not anyone else.

parents of obese children are supposed to be in control of their situation but they wont do anything about it. thats why authorities are debating whether or not to step in.

This argument works if kids only need to eat. So you are OK with emotionally abusing a child. Yeah lets abuse kids by any means necessay just so long as they are not fat! What kid of adults will these kids turn into? You think we have social problems now???

Kids need to be loved and nurtured, and just because you take a kid from the parents doesn't mean another person will do a better job. Are we actually looking out for the kid?Sounds like the approach you suggest means one is only looking at numbers and treats children as some sort of pet project to be shuffled around.

Yeah, who is going to show these kids any real love? Its a certainty they will be met with criticism and strict rules that they are not at all accustomed to when shuffled into a new home to a person that has something to prove. What about what the kid wants? Does the kid want his or her mom, dad, friends, family? Who cares! They are fat asses so they should be ripped from the only home they know to some strangers house to be put on a diet because they are too fat.

Mom fed you too much, so you now are punished and torn from your family because you are too big. Wow! Talk about trauma. Its emotional abuse plain and simple, if you were a fat kid would you want to be taken away from your parents and placed with strangers? Or would you rather see a therapist with your mom and dad so they can teach the entire family how to eat healthier.

Eating is a learned process, you don't get fat overnight, and what you learn to cook, and how much you eat is also a learned behavior. People need to be taught how to eat right IN the home, because you fail to realize....

You can remove a kid from a home, make the kid lose weight by force, not because they want to... so they lose weight.

then they come back home .... to get fat again.

Unless we take the child away from his parents and family forever..... yeah, um, NO! Its ridiculous and not a good plan at all.

Its NOT pandering or projecting blame to actually care for a child's emotional health. We need well adjusted children, holistically healthy not just slender kids.... we do not need these kids to become emotionally screwed up adults because we tore them away from their families.

[Edited 7/14/11 19:01pm]

I could eat nothing but lard and I still wouldn't be obese.

It's called exercise.

I don't know if this is the proper punishment but there is no excuse for being EXTREMELY fat.