Editorial: Gaining weight, losing custody

If you’ve watched the Steelers on TV this season, you’ve probably seen the commercials… If you’ve watched the Steelers on TV this season, you’ve probably seen the commercials advocating the NFL’s “Play 60” campaign. The idea is to encourage kids to exercise for at least 60 minutes per day to ward off obesity. At this point, the message can’t be stressed enough.

It’s no secret that obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past decades. Whereas the ’70s and ’80s saw approximately 5 to 7 percent of 6-19 year olds in the United States overweight, the numbers rose sharply around the turn of the century —approximately 16 percent of American children were overweight, according to The Department of Health and Human Services.

Blame it on today’s selection of videogames and TV channels, the prevalence of processed foods or the ease of transportation. Obesity among children is still a weighty issue — an issue that has even caused some parents to lose custody of their morbidly obese children.

At first glance, losing custody of one’s child seems like an overreaction. Children are more commonly seized because of domestic abuse or as a result of living situations that aren’t conducive to raising children — for example, excessive drug use. These situations seem direct and clear-cut violations of a child’s safety and well-being. But severe cases of obesity should be looked at in a similar regard, even if being overweight is a more common and acceptable condition.

The health detriments of obesity range from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension to high cholesterol, sleep apnea and more. Needless to say, there are serious issues that, as they are preventable, should be addressed with the utmost sincerity. If a child suffered from a more serious medical condition, such as multiple sclerosis, parents who don’t properly treat this condition would be looked at as both negligent and unsympathetic. Should obesity be looked at any differently? Given that obesity is an often avoidable condition and its health effects are severe, it sure seems comparable.

Several cases in states such as California, New Mexico, Texas and New York have resulted in the loss of custody of an obese child, according to Time magazine. Some of the cases don’t garner much publicity because of child-privacy laws. Social services, before expelling a child from custody, provide adequate warning — a measure that is fair and necessary. But if warnings aren’t enough, removing a child might just be a measure that ends up saving his life.

There’s no magic bodyweight or BMI that should determine the status of a child’s custody, and of course, situations are examined on a case-by-case basis. Some parents might be ignorant of the real dangers or indifferent to their child’s predicament. They might not recognize the gravity of their child’s state. First, they should be educated. But if they don’t help their child lose weight, they’re negatively affecting their child’s future and therefore failing to fulfill a fundamental role as parents.