The Child Abuse We Inflict Through Child Obesity

Well, isn't it about time for this?

America is guilty of child abuse. That’s a central conclusion to be drawn from this issue of Health Affairs, devoted to combating child obesity. It is one thing to be a nation that’s allowed two-thirds of its arguably "personally responsible" adults to become overweight or obese. It’s quite another that nearly one in three children now fall into the same category, including kids entering Head Start programs at the ripe old age of four. We also know that the obese among them are predisposed to develop chronic health conditions including diabetes and colon cancer, and to face shorter life spans than their parents’. So what charge would one level against a nation that allowed this to happen, if not of a form of child abuse with horrific consequences?

Though not perfect in many ways, it is movement in the right direction.

Child abusing parents and enabling, law-breaking mandatory reporters, let us hope your days are numbered.