S.C. case, Obesity as child abuse. Mother arrested, 555 lb 14 yr old in foster care

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-07-20-obesityboy_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno



S.C. case looks on child obesity as child abuse. But is it?

By Ron Barnett, USA TODAY
Jerri Gray was doing all she could to help her son lose weight, her attorney says. But something had gone terribly wrong for the boy to hit the 555-pound mark by age 14.
Authorities in South Carolina say that what went wrong was Gray's care and feeding of her son, Alexander Draper. Gray, 49, of Travelers Rest, S.C., was arrested in June and charged with criminal neglect. Alexander is now in foster care.

The case has attracted national attention. With childhood obesity on the rise across the USA, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gray's attorney says it could open the door to more criminal action against parents whose children have become dangerously overweight.

"If she's found guilty on those criminal charges, you have set a precedent that opens Pandora's box," Grant Varner says. "Where do you go next?"

[dysfunctional press]

1. at what weight does it become criminal...?

:shrug:

[boppers]

5. A start:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_bmi/about_childrens_bmi.html

There's also the matter of intent, which is a lot trickier.

[dysfunctional press]

14. but at what number does the criminality of it kick in?

that's got to be the important factor in this case.

[hedgehog]

15. The criminality kicks in as soon as it is determined that the

parents are members of a minority and/or have little money.

[boppers]

18. About intent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea

The number itself (BMI or Weight or whatever) isn't what makes an act criminal, a person could be guilty of child abuse via malnutrition even if the child actually has a healthy, normal, weight, but is otherwise malnourished. In my case, the state came in and give my parents a rather severe warning, as my weight was fine, but my protein levels were dangerously low.

Criminality comes down to whether or not the parent knew this was wrong, and did it anyways.

[Hannah Bell]

20. How was the determination made that your "proteins were dangerously low," & who was

the representative of the state?

[boppers]

21. Blood and Urine work, IIRC, (I don't remember the exact dx)

School nurse was worried because I kept passing out. I don't recall who came in for the state, it was over 30 years ago.

[Hannah Bell]

22. thanks.

[boobooday]

2. Pandora's box indeed

and sad.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. At the very least,

there had to have been a pediatrician who noticed that something was very, very wrong with this poor kid.

Child abuse?

That's a stretch, but it's interesting. The indication that she fled because there was a court hearing about the boy's custody suggests a rather rich legal history here - she is accused of not following guidelines that were set.

A kid can get food at school, but how much? That argument's not holding up for me. The mother was feeding him, I'd bet good money on that.

What's most disturbing here is that the mother has already signed a deal with a documentary film company, so she's not allowed to speak about it.

That's not good.........................

[boppers]

4. "Where do you go next?"

You go all the places where parental abuse endangers the health of a child, which is how this case wound up in court.

[virgogal]

6. Words fail me. This is outrageous.

[Kievan Rus]

7. More nanny state nonsense

[KurtNYC]

17. You're saying "nanny state" like it is a bad thing

I can't tell without more detail but even if this is not child abuse there should be some boundaries.

Call it what you (and Rush Limp) will but communities are well served by protecting their children.

[armyowalgreens]

8. I'd be interested to find out if the boys weight was due to a gland problem.

[skipos]

10. I'd say the odds of it being a gland problem are about 1 in 10,000 nt

[armyowalgreens]

19. I'd say the odds are the other way around.

It's very hard for an average person to eat their way to 500+ pounds. Especially at such a young age. There almost certainly has to be a problem with the kids metabolism.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

25. Overactive pituitary, dead thyroid, etc???

I'm just guessing.

[Mari333]

9. lets look at anorexia nervosa

what if a kid is severely underweight to the point of illness because shes binging and purging? does the state look at that also? this is a very slippery slope.

[elehhhhna]

11. notice that it's always Mommy's fault.

too thin too heavy too autistic (okay that one's been beaten back) etc. ad nauseum.

I have neighbors who are morbidly obese and their kids are, too, ramping up from chubby at 3 to extremely overweight by 12.

Maybe if these people (self-employed neighbors and the kid's Mom) had access to affordable, PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE, it wouldn't have come to this.

[Pushed To The Left]

12. Amen!

[Mari333]

13. people always blame without thinking

of the many many factors involved in anything.

[hedgehog]

16. It's been determined that anorexia nervosa is a disease that

has origins deep in the brain. During the Middle Ages, victims starved themselves as a sacrifice to God, today they starve themselves as a sacrifice to fashion. The truth is, it's probably a variation of obsessive-compulsive disorder. What if someday we find out the same about extreme obesity?

[KittyWampus]

23. if your child has anorexia and you aren't doing whatever necessary to help, the state damned well

better look at it.

Or worse, your child has anorexia and you tell her she needs to eat less.

[FarCenter]

24. His basal metabolic rate is probably over 4000 calories / day

He is certainly eating a few thousand calories / day