Should parents lose custody of super obese kids?

http://news.yahoo.com/parents-lose-cust ... 42454.html


"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."


I'm a believer.

No.

No.

You don't see it as a sign of negligence? Maybe even abuse?

they should be cited for overfeeding , i agree its a bad thing the way some parents only feed there kids fastfood , when i grew up it was a once a week treat and we cooked real food for meals ,but i still think that as wrong as it is to do that to your kids u cant realy control it to much big brother watching for me , we walked to school road are bikes all over louisville and never got driven or picked up from school now every time i ride by a school there are a hundred cars picking kids up and parents drive there kids every were , and buy fast food to save time , (i know that not all people do this but it seems that 30 years ago we got way more exercise just getting place to place and way less fast food,) but i did luv those charles chips in cans at the rich kids houses

As a parent of a morbidly obese child, who is now a productive adult member of society, I am offended by the meer topic...we went thru HELL for our child looking for reasons why he became so heavy , so many diets so many doctors....many doctors could not see past the FAT KID....Finally he had a gastric banding at 19 lost over 200 pound but is still heavy....wound up with lymphedema in his legs that nearly killed him.
I could write a book...

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.

[Robin Garr]

Sounds.like dystopian science fiction to me.

does kind of sound like 1984

Offensive topic in every sense of the word.

I think it's like suggesting we put obese people into jail. Temporarily, of course.

Offensive topic in every sense of the word.

In what way? Like it or not, childhood obesity is a problem in this country. Approx. 17% of kids in the U.S. are classified obese. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/data.html. We're not just talking overweight, but obese. Seeing as how this is a food based board, I thought it might provoke some interesting debate. Apparently you'd rather keep your head buried in the sand.

How long is this problem going to be a taboo topic with Americans? Letting obesity take hold of your children at an early age sets them up for failure. If your parenting skills are so poor that you wouldn't want to save your child from a myriad of health and social problems, then you might be the problem. If you're too lazy to get involved in your children's eating habits, and use the McDonald's drive-thru as a time saving tool, you might be a bad parent.

You need a license to drive, hunt, fish, even marry. Unfortunately, anyone can have a child. And once that happens, there are very loose restrictions on what is considered negligence on the part of the parent. If you have a 200lb 8 year old, I think people should be allowed to question your methods.

Someone up above brought up the medical condition factor. While I agree that certain medical conditions can cause obesity, for every one of those cases there are 100 more that revolve around excessive consumption and lack of exercise.

Offensive topic in every sense of the word.

In what way? Like it or not, childhood obesity is a problem in this country. Approx. 17% of kids in the U.S. are classified obese. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/data.html. We're not just talking overweight, but obese. Seeing as how this is a food based board, I thought it might provoke some interesting debate. Apparently you'd rather keep your head buried in the sand.

How long is this problem going to be a taboo topic with Americans? Letting obesity take hold of your children at an early age sets them up for failure. If your parenting skills are so poor that you wouldn't want to save your child from a myriad of health and social problems, then you might be the problem. If you're too lazy to get involved in your children's eating habits, and use the McDonald's drive-thru as a time saving tool, you might be a bad parent.

You need a license to drive, hunt, fish, even marry. Unfortunately, anyone can have a child. And once that happens, there are very loose restrictions on what is considered negligence on the part of the parent. If you have a 200lb 8 year old, I think people should be allowed to question your methods.

Someone up above brought up the medical condition factor. While I agree that certain medical conditions can cause obesity, for every one of those cases there are 100 more that revolve around excessive consumption and lack of exercise.

Can I ask where you went to medical school and what your specialty is in? We went to pediatric endocrinologists , cardiologist, exercise specialists that worked with him that could not help.

Don't get snippy. I pointed out that there are those rare exceptions that are legitimate in specific reference to your post.

No.

You don't see it as a sign of negligence? Maybe even abuse?

FR: No. I don't know what is going on in anyone's life enough to make that type of judgement. I do know genetics can play a large part in a person's build, but I am not qualified to decide something like that, and the way the government runs things (any party any time) I am not comfortable letting them decide such an important and potentially devastating issue.

Don't get snippy. I pointed out that there are those rare exceptions that are legitimate in specific reference to your post.

I just figured if you were such an expert on the subject to be making the statements you have made you must have the credentials to back them up so I was hoping to refer friends to you that were in need.