Do you think it's child abuse if a parent lets their child get obese?

[General Jumper One]

Do you think it's child abuse if a parent lets their child get obese?
Yes or No and Why?
-------------------
I say yes, because obesity can lead to all sorts of problems that can affect them for the rest of their life.

[WingedPegasus]

It's not abuse, it's just irresponsibility.

[DigiFluid]

it's not abuse, it's just irresponsibility.

qft

[chrono trigger]

It's not abuse, it's just irresponsibility.

this

[SF_and_Coffee]

Not abuse. Irresponsibility, as has been said. It's a failure to instill good habits and/or to monitor and care for any metabolic issue the child might have (because sometimes that can cause childhood obesity and should either be diagnosed or ruled out).

The only time it would be abuse would be if it were something the parents forced on the child. Or possibly neglect, in the sense of failure to provide nutritious meals and leaving the kid to just grab whatever crap food he or she can get their hands on.

[jelgate]

No. Despite what mainstream media says obesity is not so black and white

[Replicator Todd]

No. Many parents try to stop it, but its difficult when there is more than one child to take of and work and so many other things. Parenting isn't that easy.

[hedwig]

It's not abuse, it's just irresponsibility.

I agree with this.

[Col.Foley]

What are they going to do? Cattle prod them?

[SGalisa]

Do you think it's child abuse if a parent lets their child get obese?
Yes or No and Why?
-------------------
I say yes, because obesity can lead to all sorts of problems that can affect them for the rest of their life.

Not abuse. Irresponsibility, as has been said. It's a failure to instill good habits and/or to monitor and care for any metabolic issue the child might have (because sometimes that can cause childhood obesity and should either be diagnosed or ruled out).

The only time it would be abuse would be if it were something the parents forced on the child. Or possibly neglect, in the sense of failure to provide nutritious meals and leaving the kid to just grab whatever crap food he or she can get their hands on.

that... and the other above thing, too.
It's not abuse when something medical is causing the problem. It could be an inherited gene that just won't let the child stay skinny, as some adults have discovered they have that problem as well. In that situation, it's just a matter of finding out what medical *thing* is causing the over or under weight issue.

I know people with (serious) thyroid problems that cause overweight issues. So, it's their metabolism that is out of whack, not necessarily what they are eating.

Every time I keep reading the reports about obesity, some folks out there just forget to include THYROID -- metabolism problems as the source of gaining weight. Two completely different people can eat the very same meals and snacks (and yes, I mean fattening snacks). One person will never gain weight, because they have a fast burning metabolism (and not because of exercise, but sheer nervous or agitated-type energy),
and the other person will always gain weight, because they have a slower burning metabolism and yet exercise like crazy.

For several years, I weighed under 110 pounds, and ate double meals, double-triple layer cakes with icing on top, and never gained more than 3 pounds, if that much. So, I put it to the test after I got married, and for nearly 2 solid years ate 1 each almost every day at work ---- bavarian CREAM donuts, apple-spice filled sugar donuts, and never gained weight. Hubby was very jealous. I never gained the weight, until when menopause hit...
After that, I gained about ten pounds, but stayed within the skinny limits, and still don't have to exercise like other folks I know with slower metabolisms. With me, it's a thyroid issue, and I know that because my mom had half of her thyroid removed and had weight problems that required constant monitoring. My dad was *Nervous Nelly* and only gained weight when he drank too much beer.

So, it's a medical issue that people need to research further on how to resolve, and stop blaming the parents for feeding their kids the wrong kinds of food. If too many carbohydrates and sugars, without being properly balanced by proteins, are being given to the kids, obviously, other issues will result -- such as hypoglycemia and diabetes, and weight issues. Find out what the adults are munching on in excess, and their children are probably a miniature version diet of their parents or guardians.

What needs to be done is have a properly balanced diet...not blame gaining weight on eating french fries and burgers. I was raised on those things, but in *limited* moderation -- which I think the word "moderation" is the key to eating a balanced diet. Even our cakes, pies, and donuts were limited and "rationed" out. Funny thing was, my dad requested ice-cream nearly every night. My mom ate a healthy salad, instead.

When a balance diet is achieved, and --if necessary-- the thyroid is being monitored, it's okay to eat yodels and pound cakes once in a blue moon while. Also, when such things are left out while new moms are being pregnant -- that hurts the baby in the end, because too many come out being unable to eat various foods that were deprived to the fetus, while still in the womb. Eat balanced foods -- with fattening snacks in moderation. And the other problem is that depriving some folks totally of all fats is not healthy either, as some of us skinny ones NEED to gain some fat in our diets.

I've got relatives who have kids who are unable to eat various things, because of the don't eat this, and don't eat that at all during pregnancy --- as a result, the kids were born having food allergies to the very things that were prevented to be taken, during the pregnancy.

[SF_and_Coffee]

For that matter, everyone needs some fat in their diet, if for no other reason that to transport fat-soluble vitamins, and to provide some of the necessary biological building blocks for certain body tissues which require lipids in the diet. (The myelin sheathing on nerves is one of these tissues, if I remember correctly.)

[squirrely1]

Alot of times Obesity is either a medical or genetic condition or....poor eating habits usually passed down by the parents.....so I wouldn't say it's abuse....but for a parent to sit idly by while they allow their child to become obese would be irresponsible like WP suggested. HOwever, it is not such an easy issue to solve...like with any disorder....cutting, bulimia, anorexia, and as with any OCD disorder....you have to get the child professional help and realize it's the family's problem..not just the child's. It is a serious battle...one that can't be fought by the parents alone...the child has to be on board with the treatment or whatever you do would never work. It would require some sort of intervention and concerted effort by the whole family.

[mad_gater]

Alot of times Obesity is either a medical or genetic condition or....poor eating habits usually passed down by the parents.....so I wouldn't say it's abuse....but for a parent to sit idly by while they allow their child to become obese would be irresponsible like WP suggested. HOwever, it is not such an easy issue to solve...like with any disorder....cutting, bulimia, anorexia, and as with any OCD disorder....you have to get the child professional help and realize it's the family's problem..not just the child's. It is a serious battle...one that can't be fought by the parents alone...the child has to be on board with the treatment or whatever you do would never work. It would require some sort of intervention and concerted effort by the whole family.

indeed...

[Pharaoh Atem]

What are they going to do? Cattle prod them?

take away their cell phone

[FrodoFraggins]

I think it's serious neglect in most cases. I classify it as abuse but I can see why others wouldn't.