County places obese Cleveland Heights child in foster care
Saturday, November 26, 2011
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An 8-year-old Cleveland Heights boy was taken from
his family and placed in foster care last month after county case
workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight.
At more than 200 pounds, the third-grader is considered severely
obese and at risk for developing such diseases as diabetes and
hypertension.
But even though the state health department estimates more than 12
percent of third-graders statewide are severely obese -- that could mean
1,380 in Cuyahoga County alone -- this is the first time anyone in the
county or the state can recall a child being taken from a parent for a
strictly weight-related issue.
The case plays into an emerging national debate that has some urging
social-service agencies to step in when parents have failed to address a
weight problem.
Others suggest there's
hypocrisy in a government that would advocate taking children away for
being overweight while saying it's OK to advertise unhealthy food and put toys in fast-food kids' meals.
Read the Cleveland News Article.
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