Seven obese children placed in care

Chris Irvine
Telegraph
October 29, 2008

Obtained under Freedom of Information laws, reports showed one boy aged six in Derby was taken from his home by social workers because he was dangerously obese.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Another boy in London, aged 12, was put into care with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28 – 60 per cent above the 17.5 average for his age.

In Cumbria, social services intervened when one girl aged only eight weighed over 9st and wore size 16 clothes.

Dr Colin Waine, former head of the National Obesity Forum, called for closer monitoring of children to avoid them being taken into care.

He told The Daily Mirror: “This would enable appropriate action to be taken so we eliminate the need for such drastic measures. I’m looking for a position where this never becomes necessary.”

Recent figures suggest a third of 13-year-olds are obese or overweight, and that a million children in England will be obese within five years.

Earlier this month, Tam Fry, a member of the National Obesity Forum’s board, told a conference that youngster over-fed by their parents should be treated as victims of abuse, as happens with malnourished children.

Mr Fry said: “It is drastic but it’s a long-term therapy. For the sake of the children it does need to be done because we have got children who are horrendously fat.”

This article was posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 1:53 pm

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