SPECIAL FEATURES:
Email
Childhood obesity: Doctors say to take obese kids from parents
In a controversial editorial, 2 U.S. doctors said the government should remove severely obese children from their homes and place them in foster care.
Wed, Jul 13 2011 at 10:20 PM
Related Topics:
OBESITY EPIDEMIC: Some 2 million children in the U.S. are considered severely obese with a body mass index at or above the 99th percentile, the doctors wrote. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
The government should have the right to remove severely obese children from their parents' home and place them in foster care, two U.S. doctors argued in a controversial editorial.
"State intervention may serve the best interests of many children with life-threatening obesity, comprising the only realistic way to control harmful behaviors," wrote Lindsey Murtagh of the Harvard School of Public Health and David Ludwig of Children's Hospital in Boston.
"In severe instances of childhood obesity, removal from the home may be justifiable from a legal standpoint because of imminent health risks and the parents' chronic failure to address medical problems."
Some 2 million children in the United States are considered severely obese with a body mass index at or above the 99th percentile, the doctors wrote.
"Obesity of this magnitude can cause immediate and potentially irreversible consequences, most notably type 2 diabetes," they said.
Child abuse laws have long addressed situations in which children are starved or neglected, but "only a handful of states, including California, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, have legal precedent for applying this framework to overnourishment and severe obesity."
Murtagh, who is also a lawyer by training, and Ludwig said that while it may be an undesirable option, placing a child in temporary foster care could allow better habits to take root and avoid the risks of weight loss surgery.
"Although removal of the child from the home can cause families great emotional pain, this option lacks the physical risks of bariatric surgery."
The opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association made waves in the medical community and U.S. media, and JAMA issued a statement pointing out that the piece did not reflect the institution's view.
"This commentary does not reflect policy or opinion of the American Medical Association or JAMA. The content of this commentary is solely the responsibility of the authors," it said.
Copyright 2011 AFP Global Edition
You might also like:
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
EDITORS' PICKS
Advertisement
TODAY'S MOST POPULAR ON
- 15 famous people who mysteriously disappeared
- Tornado survivor finds dog during live TV interview
- 5 mind-bending facts about dreams
- Man tattoos puppy, faces backlash
- 10 false facts most people think are true
- What causes tornadoes?
- The weirdest and wackiest animal discoveries of 2011
- Where have all the monarch butterflies gone?
- 15 houseplants for improving indoor air quality - A breath of fresh air
- Men and women literally see the world differently
NEWSLETTER
Advertisement
NO,NO,NO!!! The damage done to them emotionally would be as great if not worse. So, lets create another psychologically damaged human being. Don't we have enough. Okay then lets take kids from the parents who use drugs, are nut cases or just different than you and I. Hmmm, isn't that what we are talking here?
Yes children who are obese are suffering from child abuse and should be removed
from the home until the parents learn about nutrition and caring for their children.
No, no, no. How about ban food commercials and put some responsibility on companies that feed us garbage. How many have not been thinking of food and a food commercial comes on and then you are in the kitchen looking for something to eat? If it is good enough for tobacco companies, then it is good enough for the food manufacturers. In which case, obesity negatively affects more people than tobacco. More govt. interference in homes will only create jobs and spend out tax dollars.
While we're at it, let's take kids from parents who don't make them study, who let them watch TV all night, who are divorced, who don't have a job, well any parent who is not doing a perfect job.
In fact, let's just let the government raise the kid in big orphanages and free up us adults to adult stuff. This just gets better and better.
i think taking children from home for being obese is a terrible idea, because it couses more harm to children then leaving them at home, seems to me that the states have a terrible track record when it comes to raising children, they seem to come out of the state system emotionally damaged.
I think we should work with the parents and the child. It would cause great harm to remove the child from the home. Clearly all of the people in the home need help and the need to receive it together.
I think that taking the kids away is pretty drastic. I do think that the parents should be required to take some nutrition classes, though. I doubt the parents are purposely trying to harm their children, they just may not know how to provide healthy meals, especially on a budget.
That's the key, give the government even more power. I'm not sorry; these people are idiots. Maybe they should be advocating for more affordable healthy food. They are doctors though, so they can afford fresh vegetables. They have no idea what it is like for the under-privileged. Besides the government is the biggest controller of corn and corn bi-products. It's better for the government to keep junk food cheap. Bigger profits.