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

[DainBramaged]

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?"

State courts in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Indiana and California have grappled with the question in recent years, according to a 2008 report published by the Child Welfare League of America.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-07-20-obesityboy_N.htm

[joeybee12]

1. Doing all she could?

Come on, 555 pounds, a reasonable person would see that she was doing everything wrong.

[ingac70]

4. A kid that huge....

has to have an underlying medical problem that helped cause him to get that size.

[joeybee12]

7. Yeah, but did she not take him to a doctor?

How did she let it go on for so long?

[MADem]

12. She took him "on the lam" before he was put in foster care,

but they were caught in MD. I guess it's kinda hard to hide a 555 pound kid. http://celebgalz.com/jerri-gray-jerri-gray-arrested-for-neglecting-son/

[joeybee12]

15. Kinda of hard to be "on the RUN" with a 555-lb kid...

...many questions about this thing.

[MADem]

16. They ran off (waddled off?) in the family van. There was an APB out on them. nt

[joeybee12]

18. You know, it makes sense...she lived in a state where Mark Sanford

is governor...that explains everything to me now.

[snooper2]

28. That was quick, knew the thyroid crowd would show up...

That's why we had SUCH a HUGH fucking problem 100 years ago with obese kids running around WallyWorld and McDonalds.

I can't walk to school, it's 4 BLOCKS!

Thanks for the bike for Christmas! I'll use it once every six months...

Go feed the chickens and rabbits before school honey. No mom! I'm almost done with SIM City!

Why take the stairs when their is a handy escalator right there!

I can't afford to eat healthy- I mean- LOOK AT THESE PRICES! I can get a Big Mac meal for $6.27 and don't have to lift a finger!

RED OR GREEN Leaf Lettuce
79¢ ea.
thru Jul 21


NEW CROP Green Seedless Grapes
99¢ lb.
thru Jul 21


Gotta have my Texas Toast though :) New York Texas Garlic Toast
$2.99
thru Aug 9


ALBERTSONS Large Eggs
79¢ ea.
thru Jul 19 only


SANDERSON FARMS Drumsticks or Thighs or Cut-Up Fryers ( But I don't know how to cook chicken :eyes: )
99¢ lb.
thru Jul 21


Albertsons Texas Buttermilk or Homestyle Biscuits
10 FOR $10
thru Aug 9


ORGANIC Baby Carrots
2 ea. for $3
thru Jul 21


WILD Extra Large Snow Crab Clusters ( almost as good as Pizza Hut wings right :rofl: )
$4.99 lb.
thru Jul 21

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Wow. 555 pounds. Something should be done.

The question is "what?"

That kid could be a goner before long.

[liberalhistorian]

3. I'm sorry, but 555 pounds at fourteen years old is simply

too much. If he had a particular medical condition that would cause such a horrendous weight, and there are several conditions that would be a possibility, that's one thing. But there's no indication that that's the case and, if not, then it is, indeed, abuse and endangerment.

However, this is an extreme case. For cases of children who are overweight but not grossly so, then I'm very uncomfortable with coming down on parents for that. Not only is it iffy, but it leads to the kind of slippery slope whereby anything wrong with a child, regardless of how it happened or what the parents are doing about it, could be open to prosecution. Prosecutors already have their noses too far into childraising and parental rights in too many states, let's not give them even more.

[ensho]

5. if a govt. agency has told the parent(s) that their child is dangerously

over weight and must change eating habits and do more exercise

and

the parent(s) do nothing - then it is child abuse.

amended to add: if the school system tells the parent(s)

[FarCenter]

6. If we are going to have universal health care...

We have to have better rules for healthy living.

Unless he's over 8 feet 7 inches, he's obese.

[sarcasmo]

8. This is a slippery slope, how much over weight will a kid have to be for it to be abuse?

[Johonny]

22. I agree

It appears to be a tough situation. Is the person a terrible parent if their kid is fat? Or a parent that simply needs better dietary information. It seems like a problem that could be solved without such drastic measures. Without more information it's hard to know.

[MADem]

9. I guess we will get the whole story when we see the documentary....

In the South Carolina case, Gray followed nutritional guidelines set for her son by the state Department of Social Services, Varner says, but Alexander apparently got other food on his own while not under his mother's supervision.

The boy has been placed in foster care, and Varner says he hasn't been allowed to speak to him. Gray has signed an agreement with a film documentary company for exclusive rights to her story and couldn't comment for this article, Varner says.

[abumbyanyothername]

10. Food addictions afflict

at least over 75% of the population, and perhaps as much as 95%.

Is there anything that you eat (or drink) during the course of a day that is either a) not a source of needed energy; or b) a source of harmful substances? Why do you eat such a thing?

Most people would admit that they do eat such substances and they do it because "they taste good." Doing something that harms you because it feels good is my definition of a harmful addiction.

[Flaneur]

23. Yes, I'm strung out on food. Rehab didn't help. I still get hungry.

Every morning, I wake up wanting another fix.

[lindisfarne]

11. SC called it criminal neglect, not child abuse. Somehow, I don't think taking a child from his mom

is going to help, although I also think something needs to be done to help the child.
The mother obviously has her own problems.

Perhaps the state should have provided her with fresh fruits and vegetables - it would have cost less than a foster home is costing.

[abumbyanyothername]

13. They should be charging Frito-Lay and McDonald's

with crimes.

[MADem]

14. She says she fed him according to the nutritional guidelines they gave her.

But he was getting food from other sources, apparently....

[SoCalDem]

19. not buying it,.. by the time that kid hit 3-something, he probably was not all that mobile

and kids that size are notoriously "lonely".. Sounds to me as if they are both seriously depressed, and uninformed (careless?) about nutrition.

Sad all-round.. I hope he's getting some medical help , so he can salvage his life:(

[MADem]

20. Well, the documentary will probably answer that question, too. nt

[Scout]

17. so has he lost any weight since they took him away from his mother?

if so, what's different? if not, then they better give him back.

[valerief]

21. So foodstuff producers that add the appetite-stimulating HFCS are guilty, too? I hope so! nt

[dogtag]

24. I'm willing to bet that

the mother tops 250 lbs. herself. She can babble about following guidelines, but she's an enabler through and through.

[proteus_lives]

25. Abuse.

Children don't get that big on their own. She needed to control his eating and exercise routines. She placed him at risk by not doing enough.

[DainBramaged]

26. Ignorance, and a processed food industry as unconcerned as the tobacco industry.

[proteus_lives]

27. Are you talking ignorance on her part?

But yes, the processed food industry does not care.

[DainBramaged]

29. I don't think she understood the damage she was causing