Authorities are considering taking an 8-year-old boy who weighs 218 pounds into protective custody unless his mother improves his diet , officials in England said Monday. Social service officials will meet with family members Tuesday to discuss the health of Connor McCreaddie, who weighs four times the average for his age.
An unidentified health official was quoted as telling The Sunday Times that taking custody of Connor would be a last resort, but said the family had repeatedly failed to attend appointments with nurses, nutritionists and social workers.
"Child abuse is not just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about neglect," the official was quoted as saying.
Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, England, called Connor's lifestyle "extremely dangerous," adding he is at risk of developing diabetes in his early teens, and cardiovascular and nervous system problems in his 20s.
"He's really at risk of dying by the time he's 30," Waine said.
Dr. Michael Markiewicz, a pediatrician, agreed.
"I'm not saying they can't care for him, but what they are doing is through the way they are treating him and feeding him, they are slowly killing him," he said.
Connor's case attracted national attention after his mother allowed an ITV News crew to film his day-to-day life over the course of a month.
Connor's mother said he steals and hides food, frustrating her efforts to help him. He eats double or triple what a normal seven-year-old would have, she said.
"If I didn't give him enough at teatime then he would just go on at us all night for snacks and stuff," she told ITV.
Connor, who lives with his mother and sister, has difficulty dressing and washing himself, misses school regularly because of poor health, and is targeted by bullies.
"People pick on us because of my weight. They call us fat . It makes us feel sick of the nutters always shouting at us," Connor told ITV.
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OK, that is the newspaper's story. What is your opinion?
What if your child hounded you all night for McDonald's, would you give in? What if that child was 100 pounds overweight , would you keep giving in?
I have raised this issue before and found myself in hot water because I have said that those who bring food to morbidly obese shut ins or parents of these horrifically obese children are guilty of accessory or at the very least of enabling their suicide by food.
I hope now is the time that we as a society are going to say enough is enough and take away some freedoms in the name of health if we are ever to win this battle against raging obesity .
We have to win.
300,000 DIED last year and had OBESITYHERE on their death certificate as the cause of death.
2.6 million died and had OBESITY as a contributing cause of their death on their death certificate, estimates are that number would double if EVERY contributing cause were listed.
100 BILLION dollars was spent by our gov't to fight obesity in 2006.
We spent 45 BILLION dollars buying pills, powders, programs that offer quick weight loss results only gotten fatter as a whole.
Connor's mother isn't to blame. It is the Obesigenic society that we live in that is at fault and if we collectively don't raise our fists and demand change, more mothers like Connors are going to face losing their child--either to protective services or to early death. This kid isn't 218 pounds because he eats too many fruits and vegetables, goes heavy on the lean proteins, has too many chicken breasts or eats one too many handfuls of nuts. No, this boy is obese because he eats JUNK food! He fills his body with soft drinks, fast food, processed foods and doesn't get enough exercise--THE three biggest diet vices that are causing the obesity pandemic across the globe...and in your neighborhood.
I really think we can do better and we must.
Bust your vices, before they bust you! To bust your vices, http://www.vicebustingdiet.com/
Julia
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