A New Form of Child Abuse

The S.C. Department of Social Services has threatened to remove 7 yr. old Justin Painter from his South Carolina home. Why? Justin weighs 254 lbs! The mother maintains that she is doing everything possible to help him lose weight, despite the fact that he has shown no progress. The department has given her two months to produce results.

There is absolutely no way the mother is trying hard enough. A child cannot possibly gain that much weight if he or she is playing outside/exercising and eating decent meals. She may love him, but this is still child abuse and should be treated as such.

Roughly 20% of children are overwieght today. This is one of the most serious issues facing our country. Diabetes is skyrocketing as children are fed the garbage that has become the norm in this fastfood nation. They spend less time exercising and more time watching TV and playing video games. Medical costs will rise for everyone as the overweight suffer the typical ailments associated with obesity and the "normal" suffer the costs of rising insurance premiums. This also poses a threat to education, which has already been affected by more external factors, such as poor funding and lack of proper attention at the both the state and federal levels. Children are not overweight because they sit too long while studying. Plus, more and more research is developing that demonstrates how a healthy, fit body translates into a fitter mind.

It seems as though society has begun to take action. The elimination of trans fats and the development of healthier alternatives at fastfood restaurants are good examples. But these are only recent trends. There is at least an entire generation that has suffered from a lapse in "nutritional judgement".