Comments on: Raising a Dangerously Obese Child Is a Shame — But Is It a Crime?

By: Blarty Blarckleblart

Blarty Blarckleblart — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:54:16 +0000

Surely this is Obama’s fault.

By: Steve DeMarcus

Steve DeMarcus — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:17:47 +0000

You do not get to weigh 500 plus pounds by the type food you eat but by eating too much and little or no physical activity. I am willing to bet that this kid sits on a couch all day and night either watching cartoons or playing video games but more likely just watching television with a pile of potato chips and or pretzels and other assorted snacks and plenty of beverage and is constantly chewing or drinking something. If he had a paper route and had to move around everyday doing something he would keep from adding unwanted pounds. I have maintained the same weight as I was after high school and turn 56 next week, but am highly active and do not eat like a pig.

By: c

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:05:57 +0000

Individual responsibility is needed. Parents need to do what is best for kids and teach them healthy ways to live. Food producers and retailer need to take responsibility and offer healthier choices at lower prices. How about dropping the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables and raising prices of the comfort foods? Even fast food restuarants could get in on the act and let an adult choose a side salad instead of the fries as an option. In the end if we want to see government less involved, the people need to stand up and support each other.

Check out this site. Interesting stuff.

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Cost-of-eating-healthy-low-calorie-foods-escalates

By: McCool

McCool — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:30:32 +0000

There is a man at my work who is atleast 550 pounds maybe we should arrest him. Force him on a diet or make him take nutrition classes. Why does the government have such vested intrest in telling us how we should use our inalienable rights, to life, liberty and our happiness wether our not our version of happiness is eating 3 bigmacs at a time. This mentality I am reading on this page is the kind of crap that is going to lead us to, soda, salt, trans-fat/anything but granola and soy taxes, with Obamacare leading the way of governmental control of our health. Funny that the same people who say that the constitution gives us medical privacy through roe vs. wade. Believe that the government has the right to peer into our medical records decide our medical procedures and force euthanasia counciling. So if we get Obama-care can we overturn Roe Vs. Wade under the premise that it sets a government mandate that they have the right to our medical information.

By: prm

prm — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:14:30 +0000

I don’t think that we should be spending the money on prosecuting this mother OR providing medical care to this child. WAKE UP! He did not get this way over night and he didn’t get to be 555 lb by eating a few fast food meals. This child is consuming enormous amounts of food and his mother is aware of it and enabling it. Until she makes the decision to change this situation and help her child, nothing will change. Unless the state is going to remove him entirely from her care and force him to exercise and eat right he will continue to be morbidly obese. These are lifestyle choices that they are making and no one has the right to interfere. That being said, as a taxpayer I don’t want to pay for their poor choices either. They should have to deal with the consequences of the poor choices they have made.

By: TennesseeVolunteer

TennesseeVolunteer — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:30:38 +0000

We have ruined ourselves. No one raises their own vegetables, walks to the park, shoos thekids out of the house to play in the neighborhood.
Why isn’t anyone bringing up welfare? We started ruining millions of people when we took the responsibility for their own well being on themselves to the state. Now, everytime someone has a problem, it is the states responsibility when in reality the state started most of this mess.
I have a young employee who won’t get married to his ‘girl’ that he and she have three kids with. The reason: they won’t receive free health care, free food and a ton of other free social services and products. Of course, to receive these entitlements, he can’t show too much income or have too much success or he won’t qualify. Is this the type of lessons we want to teach our society.
Did you know that in the fifties, there were minority high schools who had terrible buildings, books etc that outperformed the white schools? Do you know that the #1 predictor of a high SAT score is a two parent family? We ruin ourselves and we don’t even know it. Well meaning people on these posts talk about hyperthyroidism, fast food and what the nanny state should do.
When do we start using common sense?
The pursuit of happiness does not guarantee outcome or slimness, personal responsiblity is the road to the pursuit of happiness. This Mom and her son have no idea of how to solve their problems because we have taken away their right to fail. If this Mom had to be responsible for her life early on, I can guarantee you she would not put her son into this situation. She has no common sense because we have not allowed her to try and fail and , then, to try and succeed. I would never tell you that I should be anyones model but I will tell you this: I have failed many times, and on my own dime. And each time I have come out smarter, wiser and a better, more thoughtful person.
I don’t say these things because I do not like this Mom and her son. I say them because I know from experience that they will only come out of this if they are left to solve it on their own. When they are sure they want to change, then we can help, as we should. Education doesn’t guarantee outcome, never giving up and personal will guarantees outcome.
At the age of 57, I have taken up the DVD workout P90X with my son. i was already walking and doing yoga but needed to lose 30 pounds and felt the need to take charge of my health and looks. It has made a big difference in a couple of weeks, it costs $135 and would change this Mom and her son’s life. But you have to do the work.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:12:24 +0000

Certainly any parent allowing their child to reach such a point is deplorable but it is not government’s place to step in. We need to stop, as citizens, intruding into other people’s lives and imposing our own personal standards.Since when is anyone’s health the business of the public?

People need to understand that these ‘health standards’ have been imposed upon us by bureaucrats and for profit agencies. Every year they change their stances on what is healthy and what is not. What is consistent is the millions of dollars spent on diet plans, home gyms and gym memberships. Has anyone not noticed that it can be 2 to 3 times as expensive to purchase healthy foods as it is to buy junk? That isn’t by accident, and what would you expect that lower income families will do, limit the number of meals they are able to have to ensure a ‘healthy’ menu, or make sure that their children go to bed with full bellies?

This country has gone backward and upside down, it’s time to get back to basics.

By: Mongoose

Mongoose — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:14:17 +0000

D. ThompsonL Once you start down that road, there is no stopping. That “small percentage” soon becomes large indeed. Once you allow the state into control of the family, there is no stopping it. It is just a matter of time.

You say you are a libertarian. Well if you are, then you know that it is that family’s responsibility to deal with it, and if they can not, then thy pay the price for it. They become a cautionary tale, and other learn from it.

We got along just fine for 150 years or so of our history without state in trustion.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

By: Mongoose

Mongoose — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:09:54 +0000

Stephan. It is none of the state’s business. THE STATE DOES NOT OWN THE CHILD.

This over bearing usurpation of the rights of parents by the state is one of the worst developments of the last 40 years. What is next? Taking people’s children away because they are taught certain beliefs that authorities disagree with. Seizing them by force. Look at what Reno did at Waco.

This is where society steps in, as opposed to the State. Had it not broken down for her, as no doubt it has, this woman would be shamed into proper behavior by those around her. (it would be interesting to see how much, if any, of her income comes from welfare transfer programs provided by the state, BTW.) If you lived near to such a person and really cared so much about the child then, Stephan, you could go over there and try to educate her or you could go to her family members or to her social groups: Church, work place, etc. (But I suspect that you do not really care about the child, you kust want to push people around. I doubt that you would take it upon your self to under take the moral improvement of others. _

That is how the real world works.

We need to do away with “family courts”, social workers and all the intrusions by the state on private matters such as this. Ironically, it is just this sort of intrusions that lead to problems such as this.

We need to just stop this notion that the citizen os a subject of the state. We were founded on just the opposite principle.

By: Beatlejuice

Beatlejuice — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:15:09 +0000

A general blood test does not delve deeply enough into the thyroid. The child needs to have his thyroid tested by an Endocrinologist. No 14 year old could gain this much simply eating pre-cooked meals and fast food. Also, misssing in the story was any mention of physical activity.