Is obesity child abuse?

[gafee2001]

Nope. If the kid wants to eat healthy, tell the mom to buy healthier food.  Buying food at the grocery store is MUCH cheaper than buying fast food.

[arrwyn]

abuse, neglect, and just laziness. If they would get off their couches and take their kids to the park, they probably wouldn't put much weight on. 

Cowgirlx, you obviously did not watch the video.  The woman works THREE SHIFTS and due to this necessity is seldom at home but at 10 years of age, this boy should have had the personal discretion NOT to eat everything in sight.  Besides, there is a genetic marker here as well.  Look at how heavy the mother is.  The boy's metabolism is probably slow and most of his excess weight is probably fats as the video says he is not particularly drawn to sweets.  Yes, she may be "guilty" of neglect in getting a metabolic disorder addressed, but she is working poor and probably a single parent.  The legal age at which a child can be left alone in South Carolina is 8 years old!  That means for a working mother once he was 8 years old she did not HAVE to have a babysitter for him once he reached the age of 8.  In my estimation that is too young and all the proper training she could have given him up to that point may have gone right out the window.  She DID try to get him into a program to bring his weight down but WAS TURNED AWAY by the program because the boy was so grossly over weight they couldn't handle him.

Being charged with criminal neglect is just another case of the state trying to rule every moment of our lives.  Big Brother is watching!

[eSineM]

Great discussions going on in here! 

[cowgirlx]

abuse, neglect, and just laziness. If they would get off their couches and take their kids to the park, they probably wouldn't put much weight on. 

Cowgirlx, you obviously did not watch the video.  The woman works THREE SHIFTS and due to this necessity is seldom at home but at 10 years of age, this boy should have had the personal discretion NOT to eat everything in sight.  Besides, there is a genetic marker here as well.  Look at how heavy the mother is.  The boy's metabolism is probably slow and most of his excess weight is probably fats as the video says he is not particularly drawn to sweets.  Yes, she may be "guilty" of neglect in getting a metabolic disorder addressed, but she is working poor and probably a single parent.  The legal age at which a child can be left alone in South Carolina is 8 years old!  That means for a working mother once he was 8 years old she did not HAVE to have a babysitter for him once he reached the age of 8.  In my estimation that is too young and all the proper training she could have given him up to that point may have gone right out the window.  She DID try to get him into a program to bring his weight down but WAS TURNED AWAY by the program because the boy was so grossly over weight they couldn't handle him.

Being charged with criminal neglect is just another case of the state trying to rule every moment of our lives.  Big Brother is watching!

I wasn't refering to that specific situation.  I was refering to the majority of situations.  There are always exceptions to the rule.

[jongarton]

alright I have posted on this before and would like to chime in again! Granted most people would probably think I am crazy for saying this but how many social workers do you see taking psychology classes for their job? How many neighborhood gyms cater to adults who have been diagnosed as  "obese" I'm not seeing new gyms or other type businesses get grants from the government to help with these problems. What I am seeing is our government trying to drain the poor businesses out of money and just standing back and watching big business run rampant! Our economy is in a struggle with itself right now! here is a way to reduce problems: 1) put the car keys down and pick up a bicycle. 2) Ask president Obama for a small business grant to start a gym or exercise facility in your home town! 3) actively campaign for "obese" people to join your work out groups or facilities! 4) Be positive about others needs and don't criticize others for their unfortunate situations, embrace them for WHO they are and not their physical characteristics!

[modestmama82]

define abuse...if you mean is it healthy to allow a child to exist in a manner that could shorten their life without tryin to help remedy the situation....maybe it is.

[Loltopia]

Well, obesity can just be poor genetics. An endomorph marrying an endomorph will result in an endomorph, in the same way two homogenous people with brown eyes will have brown eyed kids as well. However, letting your kid get really fat and unwieldy is just poor parenting -- not child abuse, just bad parenting. You can't really call it child abuse without calling ALL forms of poor parenting child abuse, which is going a bit over the top.

[cowgirlx]

Well, obesity can just be poor genetics. An endomorph marrying an endomorph will result in an endomorph, in the same way two homogenous people with brown eyes will have brown eyed kids as well. However, letting your kid get really fat and unwieldy is just poor parenting -- not child abuse, just bad parenting. You can't really call it child abuse without calling ALL forms of poor parenting child abuse, which is going a bit over the top.

When you look at it that way, it is also a very good point.  I guess we would have to base it on each case individually.

[madeara]

Obesity certainly is child abuse.

[arms1977]

I think childhood obesity is a problem, but I do not think ut should be treated as abuse. Sometimes the child has health conditions thatcause them to be big. Other times the parents do allow them to overeat, but abuse is taking it to the extreme. I pack a healthy lunch for my child everyday for school. I am not at the lunch table with him, so I have no idea what he is really eating. I know when he is in my home he eats his vegetables and does not get "too much" to eat, yet he is above average in weight for his age bracket. His father was very much obese until he was about 18 years old and I come from a long line of big people. My son is very active in sports and he also has a wii fit. I do not force him to exercise becasue I do not want him to develope a fat complex, but I do encouragehim to eat healthier and be active. By saying that I am abusing my child because he is chubby is redicu;ous. I pack him a turkey sandwhich, apple slices, a juice box, and grapes almost every day. If he goes to xchool and trades that for junk food, it is out of my control. I cannot do anything about things I cannot see. I do take him to his doctor regularly and have had his thyroid checked several times. His doctor says he should lose a bit of weight, but most of it will come off as he gets older. Sorry everyone, but I trust the doctor on this one. We can encourage our children to make the right choices when it comes to food, feed them heathy meals at home, and encourage exercise, but when it comes down to it, we may have a chubby child, but it is certainly not from abuse.

[jylianhunt]

if the child is at a high rate of obesity and the parent is letting the child eat and be un groomed and is very unhealthy yes i think it would be abuse.

[sgluckadoo]

yes and no... somethings cant be helped, but some can. if a child is not being given healthy diets then it is the parents fault!

[wildinero]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/07/22/cb.obesity.crime.cnn

I think so.

yes absoluty parents has to be care the child

[sflynt]

abuse, neglect, and just laziness. If they would get off their couches and take their kids to the park, they probably wouldn't put much weight on.  I personally have issues with getting my kids to come in to eat. At 9 and 10 they are very lean, but eat like little piggies. Then they go out and burn it off again.

Absolutely. parents are just plain lazy these days.

[tzs]

The other day, I walked outside to see 4 kids, 3 of them where riding bikes, and the 4th one was running behind them, yelling at them to slow down. When they all met up with eachother, this little kid started huffin and puffin and saying "dang, slow down man, I can't keep up. Dang......Dang!"  This little boy, anywhere between 8-10 yrs old was severely overweight, and I have seen his parents, they are overweight too.  So yes, If you don't take your kid to the doctor to find out if he has a "glandular problem", and he keeps gaining weight being that young, I'd say its abuse, because children do not understand why they are the way they are, parents should be the one to enforce good eating habits, and take care of their children correctly. I was litterally worried that this kid was going to have a heart attack, or pass out!!!  He should be able to play with his friends whithout all of the huffing and puffing. Once they do get old enough to understand, the feelings begin to hurt-ALOT!!!