The idea of losing custody of their children because they are obese gave metro Atlanta parents pause. Asked if such a step were plausible, they initially went silent on the other end of the telephone.
“What?” was Benjamin Downs’ first reaction.
“Oh, that’s just awful,” Carroll Knabe said.
That was their pointed response to an opinion piece in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association that suggested parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids' weight.
Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children's Hospital Boston, said the purpose isn't to blame parents, rather act in the children's best interest and get them help that, for whatever reason, their parents can't provide.
Downs, 43, a school social worker and father of two daughters from Jonesboro, said that solution was ridiculous.
“If anything, you need to teach parents how to provide a healthy and balanced diet for their children; not take them away” Downs said.
Downs said his daughters, 5 and 7, enjoy eating but they balance it out by leading active lives.
“One plays tennis; the other wants to play soccer," Downs said. "They swim."
As a school social worker, Downs said he understands the concern many share over childhood obesity because he’s seen the impact it can have on the children’s health and well-being.
It's not unusual for teachers to express concern about students' health issues related to their weight, and obesity is often at the center of bullying in schools and many students' emotional issues, Downs said.
Roughly 2 million U.S. children are considered extremely obese. Most are not in imminent danger, Ludwig said. But some have obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and liver problems that could kill them by age 30. It is these kids for whom state intervention, including education, parent training and temporary protective custody in the most extreme cases, should be considered, Ludwig said.
Georgia is among the worst states, with 37.3 percent of its children 10 to 17 considered overweight or obese, according to the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. In response, state leaders, medical providers, schools and others are calling new attention to childhood obesity.
Gov. Nathan Deal recently launched the SHAPE initiative, a statewide program designed to promote fitness and healthy living among Georgia's youth. Beginning next school year, districts will give annual fitness assessments, called Fitnessgrams, to students in physical education classes.
Stormy Bradley, an Atlanta mother whose overweight daughter, 14, is participating in a Georgia advocacy group's "Stop Childhood Obesity" campaign, said she sympathizes with families facing legal action because of their kids' weight.
Healthier food often costs more, and trying to monitor kids' weight can be difficult, especially when they reach their teens and shun parental control, Bradley said. But taking youngsters away from their parents "definitely seems too extreme," she said.
Angie Smith Patnode of Chamblee said she has a hard time with the idea of removing children from their parents' care because they are obese.
"I think it boils down to educating the whole family about being healthy from nutrition to exercise," she said.
Tracy Adams, a mother of two from Lilburn, said obesity is a multifaceted issue that can't be solved by just taking children from their parents.
“The issue is complicated by lack of finances, education and society's concepts on how children should be allowed to eat, the propaganda they are given to believe from media sources, and what the American public has allowed to be placed into our food supply,” said Adams.
A child who has no option but to eat real food, with no refined grains, sugars, hydrogenated chemicals, and synthesized ingredients will have a dramatically decreased likelihood of becoming obese and developing diseases than one who doesn’t, she said.
“Before we start taking children from their parents, we need to ban these ingredients from our food supply and educate parents on what is appropriate,” Adams said. “Everything is going backward. The government allows junk to be produced by companies, marketed to parents, brainwashing children by programming, advertising and propaganda to desire these items.
"Then, instead of starting at the source, the 'solution' is to take the children from the parents who are only doing what they've been told to do and don't know any better and overburdening a foster care system that is already overwhelmed.”
Dr. Stephanie Walsh, a pediatrician and medical director of Child Wellness at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, said removing a child from a home should never be considered, except in the most extreme cases.
"By focusing on that point we're missing what's most important, which is helping families struggling with weight issues," Walsh said.
She said there are far more important issues surrounding childhood obesity that need attention, including access to affordable and healthy foods, and prevention.
"You're not talking about parents who don't care about their kids," said Walsh, who two years ago joined several other doctors to open an obesity clinic to manage and help the families they treat. "They care about their kids. They just need help with this problem."
Of the hundreds of families they see, Walsh said, "No one comes to my clinic who hasn't been trying on some level to help their kids with their weight issues, but, if we focus on this part, we're focusing on extremes and not tackling the real issues."
The hospital early this year launched a campaign in Macon and Columbus called "Strong for Life," featuring overweight children to raise awareness about the issue, Walsh said.
The effort will be expanded to Atlanta next month.
"We're not talking about kids who are chunky, but kids who are having serious medical complications from their weight like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension or obstructive sleep apnea," she said.
In addition to raising awareness, Walsh said, they also hope to create programs in local schools and day care centers that will address solutions to the state's obesity problem.
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