Is childhood and preteen (2yrs-13yrs) obesity child abuse?

Question

I saw this on the UK site and thought I'd write it up here.

Of course there are matters to which it is hereditary but there are many more where it is a learned habit/behavior.

If you do believe it is abuse, do you believe these parents should be prosecuted?

How do you think we could stop obesity problems that exist in these young children all together?

What do you think is the main reason parents allow their kids to get this way?

Answer 1

Not abuse but maybe neglect...

Once a child hits a certain BMI, it would be awesome for the doctor to report to a 3rd party agency [NOT children's aid, but a health board] who then investigates. There are parents out there who feed their children out of guilt, because they grew up poor and hungry - the reasoning doesn't really matter. Once it is a health issue, something has to be in place to protect the child right??

If it is lifestyle, a sports therapist could implement 3 changes per 6 months. [ie join a weekly sport, get the child a personal trainer, nutrition classes mandatory for the family etc]. If it the parents guilt, or some underlying reason, then family therapy or some sort of intervention. If it due to a health reason, it would be more likely investigated if there was a bench mark in place to measure for the doctors to be accountable.

There are a huge number of obese children, and it is absolutely amazing that it is becoming the norm! Some check have to be put in place by the government to make sure things are kept properly in line.

Sure it would be a lot of work

Answer 2

This is definitly child abuse, the parents may not be shoving food down that throats of kids but letting them eat what ever they want so they won't throw a fit is just as bad. OBESITY is not hereditary, being fat may be, but not extreme fattness. Of course the kids learn to eat this way and not get up and exercise from their parents doing the same thing. A way to stop it is to teach parents about what certain foods do to people and teach them to stop being push-overs when it comes to makeing their kids behave. Also, you need to have the kids get active to burn the fat.
It's really becoming a problem because now the life expectancy of many children is going to be less than that of their parents.

Answer 3

I posted the same thing a few months back. The general consensus was that it was not abuse but neglect and I tend to agree. What is the main reason parents allow the kids to get this way? I would think that it's mostly because it's easy and less expensive to buy junk and some parents just don't care enough.

Answer 4

No I do not. Lets not give the government anymore control... I think the parents need to resolve it.. I think it is their responsibility.. but not for prosecution. I don't think parents allow this to happen.. Well.. I know that I am 47 years old.. and my brothers and sisters have all battled the weight thing, and we all recall how we had to eat everything on our plate, whether we were hungry or not. But that was a result from them being poor, and wondering where their next plate of food came from and what was gonna be on it. My kids are thin.. because I never made them eat. I fed them when they were hungry. Like those folks suing McDonald's to overweight kids.. those kids have the money, they walk in there and buy the food... not McDonald's fault. I think we should ban hostess.. hahahahaha.. All kidding aside, it is sad to see these fat kids.. because they turn into folks on Oprah. But my son, 19 years old, has a friend that is very heavy, and I know that he will be one of those people who will end up at over 400 lbs.. I get on him because he eats at my house too.. eats our munchies haha.. people should be educated, not prosecuted..

Answer 5

A lot of the problem is learned behavior, if a child sees the parents eat food, especially unhealthy foods the child will copy the behavior. Part of it is also genetics which can't be controlled but can be monitored. But it's not child abuse unless the parents forced feed the child.

Answer 6

Hmm, there are a lot of things to consider. Maybe not abuse per se, but neglect could definitely be used to describe it. I think, if they serve healthy foods at home, but the kid eats too much of it, or it is a bit on the fat side (though still healthy: Like fat fish, nuts, avocado, dairy products etc), then no, not neglect or abuse in any way. Especially now that she is 9: It is only young children where the parents are 100% responsible for their diet. Perhaps they could improve their influence on her diet, but I don't think that would make them 'bad parents'. On the other hand, and this sounds like it might be the case, if they serve genuinely unhealthy foods for her, fried food, candy, sugar drinks etc. and just don't care to give her healthier food, and help her in general about weight issues, then I would call it neglect. She could also add malnutrition to her diet problems, and that is deff a sign of neglect. On the whole fat issue: I myself is a fat girl, and all for fat acceptance - People often say their 'problem' with fat people is just out of concern for their health, but I find the issues that fat people can face go well beyond 'concern for health', and I think THAT is the issue that 'fat acceptance' has to worry about - it's not about not losing weight (because I do encourage that), but one 'flaw' in health shouldn't be the defining characteristic to society. Also, you say it can lead to emotional problems: That is true, and that is a problem, because it shouldn't: again, if the negative attitude towards fat people was just concern, then it shouldn't do emotional damage - but it does, which points at that the "concern" is not well handled! Also, peoples concerns about the health of a fat person is sometimes in vain: There are plenty of fat people who never develop the problem associated with obesity. I participate in research at a hospital, and have there fore been tested for about every health concern there is: Diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart problems, all of that - and I am less in risk than the average person. My doctor sort of laughed at the fact that it seemed odd to pair with the title "morbid obese", as there is nothing morbid about my health condition. Back to parents role in that: I can't really grasp how young kids can be overweight, tbh... Like, why do the parents keep giving them food? I've never been skinny or anything, but I wasn't overweight until I was a teenager - because my parents did not neglect their responsibilities with my diet. Too bad I was still raised with habits which caused me to become fat. (my mom + grandmother etc is fat too, so even though they didn't serve me too much food when I was younger, there was still the idea that food makes everything better, hence why, when I got older and decided my amount of food myself, I tend to eat too much) I don't give much for the whole 'it's genetic'-bs. Sure, there can be some genetic factors, but I would say it can only be 10% of the reason why someone is fat. This turned into a long ramble... In short, yes, if parents are not doing their bid to keep their kids safe and healthy, then they are neglecting them.

Answer 7

neglect is abuse... when you feed your kids unhealthy foods and there is no medical condition yes it is neglect/abuse. If you hand your kid a box of Twinkies so you can answer one more question on yahoo answers that is a neglect. Would you give you kid cigarettes?? Alcohol?? As for the parents being prosecuted for it... I think they should get taught better behaviors.

Answer 8

yes !! I know a lady she always got her daughter to take more bites then she wanted and at 5 yrs old this girl is in a size 12-14 clothes !! She got this girl into doing compfort foods. I totally think its abuse. there is no sence in over feeding your children.

Answer 9

I highly doubt that obese kids have parents that literally shove food down their throats.

Obesity may be genetic or it may be puberty, stress, or some type of metabolism that make you get fat quick.

Answer 10

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