Childhood Obesity

Obese third-grader taken from family: Did state go too far?

1. Childhood obesity is in the spotlight, as a 200-pound third grader from Ohio has been taken from his family and placed into foster care.

2 A county spokeswoman cited “medical neglect” for the reason the eight-year-old was removed from his Cleveland home. Social workers worked with the boy’s mother for a year before asking the court for custody of the child, the Plain Dealer reported. Social workers said the boy’s mom wasn’t doing enough to control his weight, putting him at an increased risk for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

3 Lawyers for the mother argue that the county “overreached” in taking her son, saying the kid’s health is not in imminent danger. The lawyers said they’ve seen children left in homes with abusive parents and drug addicts, but this boy had a normal childhood, participated in school activities, and was on his elementary school honor roll.

4 “They are trying to make it seem like I am unfit, like I don’t love my child,” the boy’s mother, who did not wish to be identified, told the Plain Dealer. “Of course I love him. Of course I want him to lose weight. It’s a lifestyle change, and they are trying to make it seem like I am not embracing that. It is very hard, but I am trying.”

5 What do obesity experts have to say? Temporarily putting an obese child in foster care is makes more sense than alternative options – like obesity surgery, according to Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at the Children’s Hospital Boston. Ludwig, who was not commenting on this particular case, raised the issue in a commentary published last July in the Journal of the American Medical Association, CBS News reported.

6 While these kids might not be in imminent danger, Ludwig said, children with obesity-related conditions like diabetes, breathing difficulties, and liver problems could die by age 30 if no action is taken.

7 Ludwig’s paper set off a media firestorm, forcing him to defend his paper.

8 “It’s absolutely understandable that if someone with an obese child heard the government could swoop in and take that child away, (they would) be frightened and outraged,” Ludwig said. “I want to emphasize that foster care should only be the last resort when all other options have failed.”

9 Other experts expressed doubts about the wisdom of taking kids away from their families.

10 “A 218-pound 8-year-old is a time bomb,” Dr. Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Plain Dealer. “But the government cannot raise these children. A third of kids are fat. We aren’t going to move them all to foster care. We can’t afford it, and I’m not sure there are enough foster parents to do it. ”

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Ohio puts 200-pound boy, 8, in foster care

Associated Press, November 28, 2011, 12:00 a.m.

CLEVELAND – An Ohio third-grader who weighs more than 200 pounds has been taken from his family and placed into foster care after county social workers said his mother was not doing enough to control his weight.

The Cleveland 8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for such diseases as diabetes and hypertension. The case is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue.

Lawyers for the mother say the county overreached when authorities took the boy last week. They say the medical problems he is at risk for do not yet pose an imminent danger.

A spokeswoman said the county removed the child because caseworkers saw his mother’s inability to reduce his weight as medical neglect.

The Cleveland Health Department estimates that more than 12 percent of third-graders statewide are severely obese.

Nationwide, one in three children is overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, or other health conditions, according to federal health officials. Michelle Obama, the president’s wife, has embarked on a program to help youngsters maintain a healthy weight by eating better and getting more exercise.

James Gavin, chairman of the board of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said the current generation of children is projected to be the first that will grow up to be sicker and live shorter lives than the generation before it. The organization was created to work with the private sector to help reduce childhood obesity.

She has called on food processors, distributors, and restaurants to promote healthy foods and healthy eating habits for children.

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Obese Third Grader Taken from Mom, Placed in Foster Care
By Alyssa Newcomb November 27, 2011

A Cleveland third grader who weighed more than 200 pounds was taken from his mother after officials reportedly said she did not do enough to help the boy, who suffered from a weight-related health issue, to lose weight.

“They are trying to make it seem like I am unfit, like I don’t love my child,” the boy’s mother, who was not identified, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It’s a lifestyle change and they are trying to make it seem like I am not embracing that. It is very hard, but I am trying.”

Officials first became aware of the boy’s weight after his mother took him to the hospital last year while he was having breathing problems, the newspaper reported. The child was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began to be monitored by social workers while he was enrolled in a program called “Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight” at the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

The boy lost a few pounds, but recently began to gain some back, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. At that point, the Department of Children and Family Services asked a juvenile court for custody of the boy, citing his soaring weight as a form of medical neglect, according to the newspaper.

Taking obese children from their families has become a topic of intense debate over the past year after one high-profile pediatric obesity expert made controversial comments in the Journal of the American Medical Association advocating the practice in acute cases.

“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,” Dr. David Ludwig co-wrote with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and researcher at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

A trial is set for the boy’s ninth birthday next month to determine whether his mother will regain custody.

But one family who has been in the same position as the Ohio family told ABC News they disagreed with the practice when “Good Morning America” spoke with them in January.

“Literally, it was two months of hell. It seemed like the longest two months of my life,” mother Adela Martinez said.

Her daughter, 3-year-old Anamarie Regino, weighing 90 pounds, was taken from her parents and placed into foster care a decade ago.

Anamarie didn’t improve at all in foster care, and she was returned to her parents. The young girl was later diagnosed with a genetic predisposition.

“They say it’s for the well-being of the child, but it did more damage than any money or therapy could ever to do to fix it,” Martinez said.

Anamarie Regino, who is now a teenager, agreed.

“It’s not right, what [Dr. Ludwig] is doing, because to get better you need to be with your family, instead of being surrounded by doctors,” she said.

When told of the Regino case, Ludwig said his solution of state intervention did not always work.

“Well, state intervention is no guarantee of a good outcome, but to do nothing is also not an answer,” he said.

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(CBS/AP) TOLEDO, Ohio – A 9-year-old boy removed from his mother’s custody after his weight ballooned to more than 200 pounds has slimmed down enough to return home.

The boy, who was placed in foster care last fall and then with an uncle, lost about 50 pounds over four months through exercise and healthy eating. This was the first time in state history that a child had been taken away from his parents for weight-related issues. He was returned to his mother under protective supervision in March, and a juvenile court judge in Cleveland released him from that supervision Thursday.

Social service workers still plan on checking in with the boy and his mother in Cleveland Heights and have offered them nutritional and health counseling. The YMCA also gave the boy and his mother a free membership.

“That’s the tremendous thing,” said John Lawson, an attorney who was appointed by a judge to act as a guardian during the court proceedings. “Let’s hope we never have to go back to court with this child.”

The boy was removed from his family over health concerns and placed in foster care in October after Cuyahoga County case workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The county’s Children and Family Services agency said it had worked with the family for more than a year before he was removed.

The boy was considered at risk for developing diabetes or high blood pressure. Government growth charts say most boys his age weigh about 60 pounds. He weighed as much as 218 pounds, but dropped to 166 pounds when he was with his uncle, Lawson said Friday.

He was placed in the custody of his uncle last December on the day he celebrated his ninth birthday. The goal all along was to get him back with his family.

The uncle took him to the gym three nights a week, Lawson said. He also began swimming and playing basketball and is doing well despite changing schools and homes several times in recent months, Lawson said.

The boy is continuing to exercise, and his mother recently found a job, which should help with the family’s financial stability, Lawson said.

“Hopefully, everything is on track,” he said. “You’ve got to be in a regiment to keep your weight down.”