Should Parents Lose Custody of Extremely Obese Kids? Essay -- Child Ob

In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States within young people. With 31 percent of the United States of children being obese, the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is not only found among adults, but it is also now found mainly among children and teenagers. The childhood is a very important period for the initiation of obesity especially in this time. Eating practices that children are taught or learn during childhood affects a person later in their life whether they know or not. Multiple studies have confirmed that childhood obesity in the U.S has been on a rise for years. One out of three children in the U.S are obese, most of them face a higher risk of having medical, social and academic problems. Childhood obesity also leads to many health problems among young people. Those problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many more others. These problems caus e a rise in health care costs that their families might have to pay sooner or later. The influence of parents and the media play a big role in causing these problems to happen. Some people believe that a family with an obese child should not raise child protection concerns if obesity is the only cause for concern (Callaghan, 2010). However, doctors should always be mindful of the possible role of abuse or neglect in contributing to obesity. The result of some research that was done on the symptoms of neglect shows a clear correlation between childhood abuse and obesity in childhood. A study of American school children has found that after controlling for socioeconomic status, those who were physically abused were more likely to be obese (Callaghan, 201... ...nment Intervention for a Childhood Epidemic." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 May 2012. Easterling, Kelli. "Should Government Protect Obese Kids from Parents?" McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, 19 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012. Hellmich, Nanci, â€Å"Report maps out solutions to child obesity.† USA Today n.d.: MAS ULTRA-School Edition. Web. 6 May 2012. Holden, Diana. "Fact Check: The Cost of Obesity." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Feb. 2010. Web. 06 May 2012. "Media and Childhood Obesity." FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Web. 06 May 2012. Tanner, Lindsey. "Should Parents Lose Custody of Extremely Obese Kids?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012. "The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity." The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Web. 06 May 2012.