Taking a child from a parent should be considered a last resort.

Officials call his mother’s inability to reduce his weight medical neglect and placed an Ohio third grader in foster care.

As the Huffington Post reports, the boy weighs more than 200 pounds because his mom wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. However, lawyers for his mom say his medical problems do not yet pose imminent danger and taking him away from her is an overreaction.

The case is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue. But it’s a hot topic lately. I wrote about it a while back in a post called Kid Is Extremely Obese, Should Mom and Dad Lose Custody? Continue reading »

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Who's to blame?

I used to watch that show – what’s it called? – with the mean lady that yells a lot from The Biggest Loser? Jillian? So yeah, I’d watch the show where she goes into people’s houses and whips ‘em into shape. And y’all, some of the crap people feed their children… From the time they’re toddlers, these kids are guzzling soda and fast food at least once a day and often more than that.

Now, I’ll admit to wheeling into the drive-thru of the golden arches a time or two, because it’s cheap and easy and Violet loves french fries. Who doesn’t? Not liking french fries is un-American, I say. Which is ironic, considering the french part of the fries.

But I digress. The question is this: should parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids’ weight? Is letting a kid get that fat a form of neglect? Continue reading »

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We don't burn enough calories at work anymore. Do kids burn enough calories at play?

New research into the causes of adult obesity has found that a change in the typical workplace is a big reason so many people in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Back in the 1960s, half of all American jobs required moderate physical activity. Now, only 20 percent of them do — the rest require, at most, light physical activity.

A study confirming that we’re a sedentary workforce feels kind of obvious. But when you look at the numbers, you get a more refined picture of how we got to where we are. It also makes me wonder, if we don’t burn enough calories at work anymore, do kids burn enough calories at play? Continue reading »

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Public service or public shaming?

When public officials in Georgia decided to feature obese kids in their Stop Childhood Obesity campaign, they say they were just trying to get kids to listen. Kids warning other kids about the cause and effect of getting fat? What could be more effective?

But ever since Bobby, Tamika, Tina and Carlos showed up on TV and billboards — talking about a love of donuts, living with diabetes and getting made fun of by other kids — parents, health officials and child advocates have seethed with outrage, calling the 30-second spots unfair and counterproductive.

They also put the blame squarely on round kids. Continue reading »

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Lu Hao's diet is now restricted to one bowl of rice three time a day

When Lu Hao was born, he was considered underweight at 5 pounds, 7 ounces. Thankfully he started putting on weight at 3 months old. Unfortunately, however, he hasn’t stopped.

Three years later, he is now 132-pounds and his parents are limiting his meals to one bowl of rice each instead of three. And they’re hoping doctors in Hong Kong can help him lose weight.

He’s already been to several hospitals near his home in Guangdong Province, but no one has been able to figure out what’s caused him to become so severely obese.

Continue reading »

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If it's everywhere, we just don't see it.

I know this story all too well. “As (being) overweight and obesity have become more common, those who are carrying unhealthy extra pounds are increasingly likely to see their weight as normal, and are therefore unlikely to feel the need to shed some of those pounds.” That’s from a Health Magazine article about obesity in the US. Like many women, I jumped from being “normal sized” to being “plus-sized” after giving birth. (And I’ve stayed plus-size because that was the last time I ever jumped.) For most of my 20′s, I hovered near the top of the normal-sized ladder, wearing a 12 or 14. (The only exception being the summer I got married, when I was in a size 6. My wedding, apparently, was a low point.)

I didn’t gain tons of weight while I was pregnant, but since I was so close to the tipping point as it was, I didn’t have to pull a Kate Hudson and gain 75 pounds to wind up an 18. My life was quite full after my daughter was born, and when Americans run out of time, we often eliminate those activities that are best for us. I was too busy and tired to go to the gym or to workout. I was too stressed by work and my relationship to worry about trying to lose weight. (Of course working out relieves stress, but that argument wasn’t convenient at the time.) I did walk and carry my daughter’s stroller up and down the subway stairs, but I wasn’t getting enough physical activity to make a difference. I had become fat. It snuck up on me, like a cheesecake in the night.

According to Health, “Roughly two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the U.S. are now overweight or obese.” But perhaps more importantly, we’re ignoring the fact that we’re out of shape. “The latest evidence for this trend was presented Wednesday at an American Heart Association conference in Atlanta, where Columbia University researchers reported the preliminary results of a study that found that overweight mothers and children tend to underestimate their own — and each other’s — weight.” Continue reading »

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Not everyone in the GOP thinks anti-obesity campaigns are lefty nanny state stuff.

Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to lower the rate of childhood obesity in the U.S. has met much derision since it was launched. Often the criticism came from politicians, who thought encouraging kids to jump rope and asking manufacturers to quit making such unhealthy stuff for kids was somehow government encroaching on our freedom to eat Pop-Tarts.

Recently, Sarah Palin and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann attacked the First Lady for the health initiatives, the former expressing concerned about a government ban on desserts, the latter pitching a fit over making breast pumps accessible to more nursing moms.

But a couple of high-profile members of the GOP have recently come out in support of the anti-obesity initiatives — two men who, themselves, have waged a lifelong battle with their weight. Continue reading »

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