State intervention in extreme cases of childhood obesity
An Ohio mother of a 200-pound, 8-year-old boy lost custody due to medical neglect. After 20 months of attempting to control her child’s weight, officials claim that she failed to follow doctor’s orders. She’s denying those claims and based on my experience in dealing with low-income obese (LIO) families, I am inclined believe her. The child was placed in foster care but the foster care mom is reporting difficulty keeping up with the child’s mandated appointments. Officials are considering extra help for the foster mom and a personal trainer for the child. Now the extra help?
I do not know the details of this child’s clinical intervention but I’ll bet it entailed a restrictive diet, logging of meals, monitoring, counseling with professionals (who might have lacked cultural sensitivity), lots of unnecessary paperwork or meetings and home visits. There’s even a good chance that he was required to participate in some sort of after-school fitness program too. In theory, it might seem like a sound approach but in my experience, the LIO population requires extensive outreach that is highly repetitive, comprehensive and unconventional.
The biological mother is a part-time, substitute teacher and she is taking classes in a vocational school. She has limited resources and I dare to speculate that she is living in a food desert with little to no access to healthier food options. I do not know the ethnicity of this family but dare I speculate again: she is probably black or Hispanic. If so, cultural factors can make the intervention effort more of a challenge.
Economic, financial, political and cultural factors must be considered when providing services to LIO individuals and families. State intervention in cases of childhood obesity should only be considered under the most extreme of circumstances after all other possible measures have been exhausted. I question the effectiveness of this child's intervention efforts. If social service officials in Ohio are now considering extra help for the foster mom and a personal trainer for the child, then “all other possible measures” were not exhausted. The trauma of removing this child from his family will have a terrible and possibly life-long impact on the entire family. Return him to his family and get them the comprehensive help they need.
Chesna Closs has a Master’s in Social Work Administration, Policy & Planning from Rutgers University. She worked in social services for 14 years before pursuing a career in fitness. She is a personal trainer and fitness coach specializing in creating fitness content and educational programming for at-risk populations. She is an appointed council member to the New Jersey Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (2010 – 2013). Currently, she is pursuing education in holistic nutrition.
Chesna's past articles on childhood obesity
Washington Post state intervention coverage
Belly Fat
Visceral fat, the fat that accumulates around your belly, can have deadly consequences to adults and children. Too much of it can lead to high cholesterol, insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Your chances of developing too much visceral fat increases with age as your metabolism slows due to muscle loss.
And ladies, have you noticed an increase in the size of your belly but your weight has remained the same? Estrogen-related changes can cause a shift in how fat is distributed and stored in your body.
How to determine if you are carrying too much visceral fat:
There are general guidelines that call for a waist size of less than 35 inches for women and less than 40 inches for men but I prefer another technique that takes into account a person’s height. The following technique can be used with children as well:
1. Grab a tape measure.
2. Suck it in and measure your belly at the navel. Record this number.
3. Calculate your height in inches.
4. The circumference around your belly should be less than half your height.
Four things you can do about it now:
1. Kick the bad, saturated fats but continue to eat good, healthy fats. Read more
2. Eat more smaller, healthier meals throughout the day and do not skip meals.
3. Train smarter. Interval training is my top pick for blasting fat.
4. Go to my main page and sign up for The Best Fat-blasting Secrets Ever!
Contact me directly if you signed up but cannot or did not receive your report.
report). Chesna@FitEsteem.com 908.463.5678
