Social workers in the UK have sparked controversy by threatening to take away a couple's six children if three of the kids don't lose some weight by June. The heaviest sibling is a 12-year-old boy who weighs 16 stone, otherwise known to us non-Brits as around 224 pounds.
There is no denying that some of the children, whose names have not been released, could stand to shed some inches. But putting the entire brood in foster care seems beyond alarmist, which also makes me wonder if the Daily Mall might be exaggerating the situation a bit. Assuming this story represents the whole truth and nothing but, the move is indeed, as one member of Parliament describes it, "draconian."
The question is, how long until something like this happens in America?
Childhood obesity is an even more serious issue here than it is in Great Britain. And with places like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and my hometown, Montgomery County, Md., all banning transfats in restaurants, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where parents who don't impose stricter diets could be seen as negligent.
I'm all for raising healthy boys and girls, ones with low BMIs, proper eating habits and regular exercise routines. But separating kids from their parents rather than helping those children reach their fitness goals is heartless and counterproductive.
Besides, the mother of these children says she doesn't "even own a deep-fat fryer." Shouldn't she get (low-fat, sugar-free) brownie points for that?
Photo: Daily Mail
