Child obesity: A form of neglect?

Child obesity 'a form of neglect'
By Branwen Jeffreys
Health correspondent, BBC News

Child obesity rates are soaring
Obesity has been a factor in at least 20 child protection cases in the last year, the BBC has learned.

Some doctors now believe in extreme cases overfeeding a young child should be seen as a form of abuse or neglect.

The BBC contacted almost 50 consultant paediatricians around the UK to ask if they believe childhood obesity can ever be a child protection issue.

The British Medical Association is due to debate a motion on this issue at its annual conference at the end of June.

Earlier this year the case of one obese child hit the headlines when social workers became involved.

Dr Tabitha Randell, a consultant paediatrician from Nottingham, is one doctor who believes some parents are killing their children with kindness.

In her clinic it has become more common to see children entering puberty before the age of 10 because of their obesity. Obesity is a public health problem, not a child protection issue

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

In one extreme case Dr Randell saw a child aged two and a half who weighed more than four stone (25.4 kg).

"They said she was big-boned and they were too. I think the perception of parents is a very real problem.

"If you see every other child in the playground with their belly hanging over their trousers you think that's normal."

Some health professionals think it is unhelpful to see childhood obesity as potential neglect.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: "Obesity is a public health problem, not a child protection issue.

"There may be a few families that give cause for concern where there are other matters of neglect or emotional harm and this is where a paediatrician might have discussions with social services."

Diet advice

Some parents feel they face an uphill struggle to convince their children to eat healthily in a society where there are many high fat choices on offer.

At the children's centre in the deprived Meadows area of Nottingham parents are offered support to improve their children's diet.

I've seen a 10-year-old who could only walk a few yards with a walking stick

Doctor's quote

A group of mothers has just signed up for a six-week course, learning how to prepare healthy food from scratch.

The mothers say it is too easy to blame parents.

Vikki Sansom, who has two young children, said: "I think there is a big difference between not feeding and overfeeding.

"It's really hard for parents and it's wrong to say that's neglect".

But at the end of June the BMA will be asked to consider the motion: "The government should consider childhood obesity in under-12s as neglect by the parents and encourage legal protection for the child and action against those parents."


Is it really willful neglect (child abuse), or just poor parenting to allow your child to become sooooo obese that their health is impaired?

I believe that the problem with child obesity should be shared between the parents, doctors and the school. This issue was discussed earlier in other threads and as I've said a child doesn't go to bed one night weighing 4 stone and wake up in the morning weighing 12 stone. I'm sorry but if the parents are letting the child stuff their face with junk food and fizzy juice then surely the health authorities should intervene at the earliest opportunity. It's all fair and well some do-gooders pointing the fingure at the school saying that kids don't get enough exercise or PE but if a child is not attending school what can they do.

The primary blame must lie with the parents they are the ones who are responsible for providing and caring for the child, for those parents who say oh their child will only eat take away food, and will only drink fizzy juice. Hello who is the adult here, children are not born with an appite for junk food,sweets or juice an adult had to give it too them. The children can't stuff their faces on biscuits and six packets of mccoys if they are not in the house, if there is fruit and water or diluting juice they will take that if they are hungry or thirsty. But parents who are experiencing problems should be given support by their GP or school and given a action plan to follow. This should be reviewed every couple of months and if the parents are not sticking to the action plan then may be its for the best that the child is taking into care.

Couldn't agree more.. Parents and Dietian have to work together. It is no good one person doing something and another doing another thing. I try not to give my kids junk food, it is an occasional treat for them and not given every day. I feed them on fruit, juices, and non preprocessed food but it is hard when their friends are bringing chocolate, crisps etc to school. Fair play to the school that charley is in that they have banned these items from Lunch boxes and the first break of the day is "fruit break"...

Our local council have a scheme where primary children are given fruit at school 3 days a week, parents who are on benefits don't pay for the fruit. I have to pay but its less than 10p a week and its paid at the begining of term that way children are garaunteed fruit. I still allow Marley to have a bag of crisp and sweets but not to the extend that she guzzells a 500g bar of dairy milk every day along with 6 bags crips. I don't buy fizzy juice for the house. The last time I bought fizzy juice for the house was at Christmas. Marley gets 1 can of pop a week and that's when she goes to judo, but if we are out anywhere and she asks for a drink 9 times out of 10 she will pick ribena or water as she is not fussed.

I have nothing against parents allowing their children junk food, we normally have a take away of mcdonlads at the weekend once i've fininshed the shopping as I'm too wacked to think about cooking, but there is a differnce between giving chillden a treat once a week or month and feeding them junk food seven days a week.

Ci's school always has a fruit snack at first break - they can have apple, orange or carrot and thats it (with a drink of course). We don't pay for the fruit, but pay the 10p for squash or 14p for milk, or send them in with their own drink, which is what I do.

A lot of parents have got into the slippery slope of doing whats easiest - half the time involving junk food etc. Ultimately the responsibility has to lie there, when the children are young. Once they become teenagers/older and they are feeding themselves cr@p during school hours etc, you have to educate them, and try and prevent them from having these same eating habits in the house.

We have take out once a week, whether its pizza, kfc, chinese or chippy - its my rest day and no chance would I get hubby cooking.

its not only what they eat it is also the fact that nowadays kids sit infront of the playstation or the tv rather than being outside playing! its not just laziness, its more dangerous for kids to!

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Originally Posted by i-love-sawyer!

its not only what they eat it is also the fact that nowadays kids sit infront of the playstation or the tv rather than being outside playing! its not just laziness, its more dangerous for kids to!

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I agree but if a child does sit all day playing computer games again it's the parents to blame. The documentary that highlighted the young boy showed him playing in the garden on a large trampoline,which must have cost around £300. Surely his mother would have saved a load of money if she took him for walks in the park or swimming instead.

Kids are getting a lot more exercise at school now but if a child is not attending school then the teachers are powerless. If teachers or health visitors have concerns that a child is showing signs of being overweight, then they need to be addressed quickly and not wait until the child is obese.

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Originally Posted by Chloe O'Brien

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Kids are getting a lot more exercise at school now but if a child is not attending school then the teachers are powerless. If teachers or health visitors have concerns that a child is showing signs of being overweight, then they need to be addressed quickly and not wait until the child is obese.

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I completly agree with what you're saying. The thing is though, parents don't like being told their little Johnny is fat.