Posted by Fit Esteem on November 30, 2011 · Leave a Comment
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
Posted by Fit Esteem on December 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Steve Sears is a 48 year-old freelance writer living in NJ. He is married and has a daughter.
Goals by 3/31/2011
1. Reduce waist size from 43.5 to 40
2. Reduce overall cholesterol from 228 to less than 200 and to reduce LDL from 155 to less than 100
3. To lower cholesterol naturally by exercising daily and eating 5-6 smaller, healthier meals
Steve had a heart attack in 1996 at the age of 34. At the time, he was overweight and did not concentrate on his health. His doctor put him on Lipitor to lower his cholesterol and instructed him to exercise and eat better. Steve revamped his diet and began interval training. He lost weight and his cholesterol dropped over time so his doctor took him off of Lipitor. Unfortunately after 11 years, he's regained his weight and his cholesterol is high again.
When I asked how he reached this point again in his life, he said that it happened because he got lazy and that he didn't have his "eyes on any goals." Steve's current doctor wants to put him back on Lipitor along with a food program but to Steve's disappointment, she has not recommended exercise. Steve refuses to go back on Lipitor because he doesn't like the way it makes him feel. He is attempting to lower it naturally this time around through exercise and better nutrition. His primary motivation is his family.
"In my opinion, a sharp, alert mind and a successful life are the result of having a healthy body, which you achieve by challenging your body with proper exercise and feeding it proper nutrition," he says.
Stay tuned for periodic updates from Steve!
Filed under Fit Esteem Blog · Tagged with balanced meals, boot camp in Morristown, boot camp in South Orange, Bootcamps, Exercise, Fat, Nutrition, Obesity, Personal training, personal training in Chatham, personal training in Florham Park, personal training in Livingston, personal training in Madison, personal training in Maplewood, personal training in Morristown, Quickie workout
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