Photography by Tony Alter, via Flickr (CC)

To say that childhood obesity is a hot-button issue in this country would be a great understatement. It seems like each day, there’s a new story about things that are fueling the obesity epidemic (TV habits, lack of exercise and even C-sections are on the list). But when a child’s obesity becomes life threatening, is it time for someone to step in and remove that child from their environment? This is the question on our minds, after reading about a new commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reported by The Associated Press.

The piece, written by Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Children’s Hospital Boston, and Lindsey Murtagh, a researcher at Harvard’s School of Public Health, suggests that placing a child in (temporary) foster care may be the best course of action in cases of severe child obesity, as opposed to subjecting the child to obesity surgery. “Ideally [state intervention] will support not just the child but the whole family, with the goal of reuniting child and family as soon as possible,” said Ludwig, according to the Associated Press report. “That may require instruction on parenting.”

There is no arguing that children who are severely obese face a myriad of health issues that could cut their lives short. And that is a very sobering thought. Kids shouldn’t have to worry about things like high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes and heart attacks when they’re 5 or 10 or 16, but that is becoming our reality. According to the Childhood Obesity Foundation, 26 percent of Canadian children are overweight or obese. In the US, 12.5 million kids age 2-19 are obese. Perhaps the old adage “desperate times call for desperate measures” applies here.

On the other hand, removing a child from their home, even temporarily, may lead to complications of its own. On top of existing health issues, suddenly a child may also need to cope with separation anxiety and depression.

To build upon Ludwig’s comment about instruction on parenting, perhaps government-mandated nutrition and parenting classes for parents of obese children would be a better option than removing the child from the home completely. But in cases where a child’s weight has become life threatening, it may be a little too late for learning.

What’s your take on this issue? Should parents of severely obese children lose custody? Or is there another solution?