That is just a tad bit extreme, don’t you think?
Dr. David Ludwig and Lindsey Murtagh, two researchers at Harvard University, have published an opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which states their belief that parents of obese children should lose custody.
The paper equates allowing a child to become obese to parental neglect on the same level as child abuse, writing:
“Even relatively mild parenting deficiencies, such as having excessive junk food in the home or failing to model a physically active lifestyle, may contribute to a child’s weight problem.”
We, however, COMPLETELY disagree with this assertion, even if the authors are simply stressing the importance of parents acting as healthy role models for their children.
Separating a child from their parents, regardless of how many boxes of twinkies are found lurking in the family’s pantry, would scar a child for life! In fact, that child would probably develop such a deep depression as a result of a forced separation from their family, they would only eat MORE unhealthy food.
Childhood obesity is an unfortunate reality we’re just starting to face on a national level, but we have to understand it is the result of our society more so than individual parents. Children are tempted to binge on unhealthy food in every aspect of their lives, not just because of what their parents are buying at the grocery store.
For two researchers at such a prestigious educational institution, their views on childhood obesity sound shockingly uneducated.
[Image via AP Images.]
Related Posts
