Is Childhood Obesity Considered Child Abuse?

One third of American children are either overweight or obese.  That is a very scary statistic.  Most of us think of childhood as a time of being carefree and having fun.  Although this still might be the case, 33% of children are sick.  Not acutely sick, but chronically sick.  A sickness that will unfortunately stay with most of them forever.  As Americans, we want to blame SOMEONE for making our youth sick, but who is really the culprit?

Childhood obesity is characterized as a BMI (body mass index) of greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for a child's age and height.  In other words, a child who is considered obese would have a higher weight when compared to 95 out of 100 children with the same height and age as the obese child.

Obesity during childhood has been associated with numerous adverse effects including a variety of health complications such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, left ventricular hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, sleep disorders, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.  This is particularly troubling because these extra pounds often start children down a path to health problems that were once confined to adults.  Additionally, psychological effects result from childhood obesity such as stigmatization, discrimination, depression and emotional trauma. Obesity in childhood also substantially increases the risk of being an obese adult.

Also, adults who were obese during childhood have higher risk of developing hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and coronary heart disease than those who were not obese during childhood.

So why are more and more children becoming obese?  There seem to be a number of reasons.  The amount of physical activity children get during the day is diminishing.  Many schools do not even have mandatory PE classes for children anymore.  The number of hours children spend watching TV and playing video games has increased exponentially.  What happened to the days where parents pushed their kids outside for the entire day and told them not to come home until dinner-time? 

Also, the amount of meals that are eaten at restaurants have increased.  Going out to restaurants should be considered a treat, not the norm.  Going out to eat should have the same boundaries as eating at home: kids should have one or two options to choose from, not an entire menu.  Why can't parents tell their kids they can choose from two options at a restaurant, and make those options well-balanced?  Children shouldn't be able to choose from 25 options of fried, fried, and more fried food.  This is setting them up for an unhealthy diet their entire lives.

But is childhood obesity considered child abuse?  Harvard University's child obesity expert Dr. David Ludwig says yes.  Ludwig, an obesity expert at Children's Hospital Boston and associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, shared his divisive idea in an opinion piece that ran in the Journal of the American Medical Association: that state intervention can serve in the best interest of extremely obese children, of which there are about 2 million across the United States.

"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," Ludwig co-wrote with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health.

Taking a child out of his or her home may be a bit extreme, but lets think about this.  Who knows that the Super Size Quarter Pounder with cheese and a large chocolate shake isn't the best lunch for a twelve-year-old?  The parents.  Who understands that exercise is healthy for their children?  The parents.  Who should be running the house?  The parents.  Allowing your children to live a sedentary lifestyle and pumping them full of refined, processed foods is ultimately killing them.  What are my thoughts on this matter?  Americans need to appreciate the scary truth: we are making our youth chronically sick, and parents need to pick up some of that blame.  Turn this around, start your kids on a healthier lifestyle.  Because who knows, one day your child could be taken from you.