Should Fat Kids Become Foster Kids??

Let’s face it, North America. We’re in a bit of a pickle. The current generation of ankle-biters are beginning to grow cankles. Stats Canada estimates that 25% of kids in Canada are now overweight, and 12% are considered obese. Compare that with stats from 1980, where 9% of kids were overweight and only 3% were obese, and we can see where the world is heading. And believe me, it’s not pretty.

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Just fast-forward to 1:05 to get an idea.

The Journal of the American Medical Association released an article on Wednesday HERE that equated raising an obese child with child abuse.

In a sense, [it] is analogous to second-hand smoke in the home – a condition associated with adverse health consequences for the child, but not warranting legal intervention.

They suggest that while the average overweight kid may consume 100 calories more per day than recommended, the obese child consumes roughly 1000 calories more, which can lead to irreversible type II diabetes due to the early death of the pancreatic beta cells. The crazy thing is that adults can reverse type II diabetes to a degree, as their pancreas is more developed when they get the diagnosis, whereas young kids developing it are pretty well screwed from the get-go.

Not to mention the micro-and macrovascular changes, the kidney disorders, the social ostracization, the depression, and all the other fun things that come with obesity.

The stance that childhood obesity is a form of child abuse is not a new concept, but to my knowledge this is one of the first highly regarded medical journal to place the blame for the condition squarely on the shoulders of parents.

Federal law defines child abuse as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of the parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm….or an act or failure to act which prevents an imminent risk of serious harm.”

I’m not a huge fan of our social care system, as it’s pretty well the most overworked and under-appreciated network under the umbrella of federal care, and since most of the kids that enter into it get shuffled around and never gain the stability the system is supposed to offer. That being said, if the system were to offer the appropriate parent training, in-house services, and some form of teeth that would scare some parents into taking their health and the health of their children seriously, it might actually have an impact on the health of these kids.

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Now while there is still a genetic risk factor in the form of a newly identified “obesity gene” that happens to hit 5 out of 300 obese individuals in a study HERE, most people would point the finger at lifestyle factors as the main culprit to the unsubstantiated weight gain at such a young age. Sure, they have the obesity gene there, but there’s no XBox gene, or Double-Down gene, or an “allergic to movement” gene, but that’s just my opinion.

So here’s where you can come in. Should the government intervene in cases of childhood obesity on the ground of child abuse, potentially removing the child from the home, or should they stay out of it? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.