Parents Arrested Over Obese 11-Year-Old Son

The parents of an 11-year-old boy who weighs 15 stone have been arrested on suspicion of neglect for allowing their son to become obese.

The child's mother has claimed the family had been trying to get the boy to lose weight by encouraging him to play more active games on his Wii games console.
She also said her family was predisposed to being overweight.
The woman, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, told The Sun newspaper: "The idea they could take away my son scares me so much.
"His weight isn't that much of a big deal.
"I'm chubby and the whole of my husband's side of the family is big. It's genetics - you can be genetically fat."
Police have defended their decision to arrest the parents, saying officers from the child abuse investigation unit worked closely with health and social services to deal with "sensitive issues such as obesity and neglect of a child".
A spokesman said: "While it is inappropriate to comment on this case specifically, it is important to stress that intervention at this level is very rare and will only occur where other attempts to protect the child have been unsuccessful."

The arrest was made after doctors raised concerns with the police after treating the boy. The article also says that the boy was known to social services but does not say if it was solely regarding to his weight.

I haven't really heard of this happening in the United Kingdom before, I do believe that genetics can play a part but if a childs health is at risk I think it is right for social services to help the parents maybe attend nutrition classes and exercise schemes, but to be arrested? too harsh?

Link

If they're too stupid to feed a child properly, they shouldn't have one.

a reply to: SprocketUK

And you believe this is the police's decision to make on this? There are things that they could do to support this family, not arrest the parents IMHO of course...

a reply to: Lady_Tuatha

Genetics has replaced demon possessions these days.

I understand why they did this as a 210 lb 11 year old is very much at risk health wise. It seems the better way to approach this would have been to place the entire family in an intensive program. My guess is child protection services had already been called for some other reason in past and we aren't hearing entire story.

Also, it is very rare where diet and lifestyle are not to blame for being overweight. It may be that the boy needs something like a Ketogenic diet(severe carbohydrate restricting diet) or something of that nature. But in no way can you just say that the whole family is "genetic" fat monstrosities. My guess is the whole family eats tons of carbohydrates and sit on their ass most of the day. Not rocket science to see what may be happening there.

I get really irritated these days when scientists say "genetics" caused this or that. There is so much we don't know about genes, how much they interact with each other at this point to be making assumptions like that. Also most of the time they don't even have a real control group to compare it with. It's scary.

a reply to: Lady_Tuatha

Why arrest them? Are they going to start arresting the parents of kids who look to skinny because they are poor? This makes no sense.

From BBC

A 49-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, were questioned by officers over the child's care and released on bail. Police said intervention at this level was "very rare" and only occurred where other attempts to protect the child had been unsuccessful. A spokeswoman added police were working with health and social services.

The couple were arrested in March on suspicion of child neglect and cruelty under section 1 of the Children's Act 1933.
"When dealing with sensitive issues such as obesity and neglect of children, officers from the force's Child Abuse Investigation Unit work closely with partners, significantly with both health care and social services, to ensure any response to address them are proportionate and necessary," police said.
"Any action taken by any agency will be subject to a joint strategy and will always be taken with the welfare of the child and their protection from harm as paramount."
Norfolk County Council spokeswoman said: "Our priority will always be the health, well-being and safety of Norfolk's children and we will always do all we can to support families to meet their children's needs."

BBC

According the Public Health of England, this area specially has more obesity problems than in average. Health pages tell that in receptions every 8th child is obesity and its worse than average, also adult obesity and alcohol use is worse than England average
There is serious problems in this area and its a big wake up call
Public Health

originally posted by: SprocketUK
If they're too stupid to feed a child properly, they shouldn't have one.

There are a lot of phrases that fit there. IMHO obesity is clear neglect of a child and your duties as a parent. If DR's were concerned enough to make a phone call its clearly abuse. They do not just go out of their way to call authorities on someone. One thing about obesity is it can be fixed. I don't care about genetics its simple math, STOP EATING. If you aren't taking in calories you are burning fat. It's really that simple.

Have found myself over weight a few times and guess what? I stopped eating. Fixed the issue.

If people eat right and exercise properly they'll lose weight. Genetics is a bull**** excuse.
My own mother tried to play that game, claiming for years she was overweight because of a "thyroid problem". The funny thing is, when she stopped sitting on her ass and eating entire gallons of icecream in front of the tv and actually exercised a little, well hey, whaddya know, she started losing weight.

People get fat because they're either too lazy to exercise enough to lose weight or they simply eat far more than their body needs, and I don't care who that pisses off.

Oh and I forgot to comment this:
Letting your child become obese is no different than starving him until he looks like a skeleton.
Obese children are neglected too.

a reply to: Pimpintology

I agree for the most part, but there are some cases where it is not that simple. Some people have extremely intense cravings/addictions to food. Nobody can know how somebody else feels and what they are going through. In some cases it's just like saying to a heroin addict, "just stop shoving those needles full of heroin into your arm it's really that simple."

Well no it isn't. I am not saying this is true for everyone, but there are some people like that. Also, metabolism does play a big role....

If the parents are allowing the kid access to endless amounts of sweets, or shoving food down his throat then yes they should be arrested. If the kid is going behind their backs and stealing food, eating friends/neighbors food, buying candy etc...that can be hard to control.

So IMHO obesity is not a clear sign of neglect. Every situation is different. When I had a serious accident and was basically stuck in bed for 6 months I gained a lot of weight. Sometimes people have physical issues where they cannot exercise and that makes it almost impossible to lose weight unless you starve yourself.

It is my opinion that genetics plays a huge role in many aspects that dictate one's weight.

Yes, watching what we eat and exercise is very important, but you also have to take in to account their parents/grandparents, body build, and metabolism.

For example, my youngest son is about to turn 9 and he is a monster. He's taller than all the kids at school and taller than many teachers. We have him on a strict diet, we keep him very active, but he still keeps growing like a beast. He's a little overweight, but he's just genetically built to become a very tall, stocky built person.

So I think it's a bit short-sighted to say that genetics do not play a role whatsoever.

As a person that has struggled with weight, I give my support to others that have the same problem and I think we would all be better off if we took the time to understand that it goes much deeper than watching what we eat.

a reply to: Lady_Tuatha

Man, I feel really bad for that child, and not just because of his weight. He's going to have a lot of emotional baggage to overcome in his life, because right now, no matter how anyone words it to him, he knows he's been taken away from his family all because he's fat. Being his size he's already going to be self conscious regarding his weight, I'm pretty certain he'll be teased a lot, too. But now he's been taken away from his family, all because he's fat.

I get what people are saying, he's unhealthy, so yes, it's "child abuse". Makes me really glad that I grew up before people started acting like this, especially if people are going to claim extremely skinny children is child abuse. I'm 6'1, and during HS, I was only 124lbs on average. That's very skinny for that height, and many people thought I didn't eat. That's not the case at all, I ate a ton, would go up for 4th's / 5th's at all you can eat buffet's, and at times even hit the gym. I just could not gain weight for the life of me, because I had a very active metabolism.

At what age did he start to become overweight?
Friends?
Treatment in school?

I ask because the eating might be a result of other factors. An overweight 11 year old would be the butt of jokes / comments etc.

I have seen situations where overeating is a defense mechanism. If he faced ridicule / low self esteem on a daily basis the overeating could be a sign of depression.

just offering another possibility.

as a US citizen i can only think of the entitlements that kid is going (if he was from the US) to need that i would be paying for throughout his life.
that kind of lifestyle his parents are forcing him into feels like an attack on ME and my means. the responsible people must suffer the burden.

is it ok to take legal action on those who burden the rest of us with their bad decisions?
i say yes.

a reply to: Bisman

What?

Do you honestly believe that just because someone is overweight they will become an unproductive burden on society that requires some sort of assistance?

Are fat people incapable of hard work, dedication and ambition to make a life for themselves without the help of others?



I'm not easily offended by any means, but if that's what you're saying......I'm offended at that pile of bull#.

a reply to: Bisman

You people make me so angry, I am ready to bang my head on my desk.

The kid is fat. Lots of kids are fat. Kids have been fat for 100s of years.

Some kids are very skinny, some kids have been very skinny for 100s of years.

What is the health repercussions of removing a kid from his family, paying someone who doesn't give two hoots for the kid to put him through boot camp to make him lose wieght

www.cbc.ca...

Has anyone considered that it is not the governments place to decide these matters!!!!

When did the government or anyone related to the government get to be such experts??? That they and only they can decide what is best for a kid? The biggest abuser of children is the government. Children die in the foster care system now and they died in orphanages 100 years ago!!

This is beyond unbelievable. That we would decide to allow the government to step in like this on a kid where there is no sign of abuse!!!!

Are we now abdicating our right to raise our own children to the government?

Remember this - to all the people who think "risk to health" overrides everything including the constitution and human rights - a government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have.

Genetics Pfft!
Strange how in sustained famine conditions those alleged 'genetically fat' people are nowhere to be found.
Some people need more energy to run their bodies than others.
EVERY person who uses more energy than they consume over a period of time will lose weight as the body dips into the fat stores.
The parents ARE to blame for an 11 year old.

# me, I'm 6'1" and a healthy 13 stone, that poor kid must have been fat as #, crap crap parents, should be ashamed of themselves.

...and don't blame high trans fats/corn syrup/sugar/blah, I eat loads of crap 'food' daily, but I use more energy than I consume, same as all the guys I work with, and we aint fat for that reason. We are not miracles of biology.
*Edit*
I've actually watched a few fat guys slim right down over a few months hard work burning massive amounts of calories in a day instead of sitting on their arse. I am sick of fat apologists constantly misleading people about simple biology. Bodies need energy to run, give it too much than it needs and it will store the excess, but give it too little and it will draw from the stored resources.
Some people need more energy, than others, some people need less.

a reply to: grainofsand

Sure that is what is an important response to the OP

Take the opportunity to remind everyone how "morally superior" you are because you are not fat!!!

You may be lean but you are personality is ugly to the bone

Tired of Control Freaks

originally posted by: TiredofControlFreaks
a reply to: grainofsand

Sure that is what is an important response to the OP

Take the opportunity to remind everyone how "morally superior" you are because you are not fat!!!

You may be lean but you are personality is ugly to the bone

Tired of Control Freaks

Aw, are you doing a bit of amateur psychology, and failing, lol.
Classic fat apologist tactic, ignore the facts of energy use and consumption and instead desperately search for some emotionally wounded position to deflect reasoned discussion. Lame.

Which bit of the rest of my post did you agree/disagree with when you calm yourself emotionally?

a reply to: grainofsand

The part I disagreed with was the part where you bragged about how you maintain your wieght, as if somehow that makes you morally superior in some fashion.

This thread isn't about YOU!

What this thread is about:

1. Someone has had their right to parent their own kid because some government job's worth thought the kid was too fat.

Response: I posted an article from the CBC where scientists are now getting around to admitting the metabolism isn't as easy as the energy in / energy out equation.

2. I questioned, in the absence of physical or emotional abuse, what gives the government this right. Being fat is a risk factor for poor health, but and this is crucial to understand, a risk factor is just that...a risk. Begin fat is not a disease.

3. The kid is 11 years old. What are the parents to do? Deny him food? Is he not old enough to get it himself? Whip him around on a running track? I think most people would consider that abusive.

4. The government doesn't have a good track record when it comes to refraining from abusing kids themselves. Everyone is sitting back, condemning these parents but not thinking of what happens to a kid placed in the care of strangers.

Why are people so willing to give up the simple human dignity and right of raising their own kids. Is being fat such a horrible crime that the constitution and human rights can simply be waived like magic.

5. How will people react is this kid is abused in the foster care system. Do they care about the kid at all or LIKE YOU are they simply concerned with demonstrating how morally superior they are.

I for one, am outraged that the government would remove a kid from his family for the sole reason that he is fat and as a consequence, might develop health problems in the future.

Look around - if "risk to health" justifies taking a kid away from his family, what might other "risks to health" look like - your kid breaks his arm falling out of a tree, you lose your kid until you cut down the tree. You store household cleaners under the sink - no kid for you. You didn't install the baby car street in the updated approved government fashion (it changes every couple of years) - no kid for you!


Tired of Control Freaks