Obesity - Soon to be Taking Children Away?

Imagine this scenario: A person goes to the shopping centre. There is a McDonald's, but there is also a healthy food stall. At the healthy food stall, water, a salad sandwich and a piece of fruit costs around $10. Whereas at McDonald's, a burger, fries and a coke cost around $6. Usually, people would buy the McDonald's deal, because it saves them their money. Despite the fact that they know the health risks which are buried somewhere in their mind, they still buy the food that is unhealthy for them. Participating in a scenario like this, constantly, is what causes a major health issue.

Obesity.

Obesity is classified as a disease caused by an excess of body fats which may lead to negative effects on the human body. Obesity is very common these days, so common that every 1 in 5 children suffer from obesity or have suffered from it. Its health effects on the body are majorly negative; some of the many disease that can be acquired with obesity include: diabetes (lack of insulin in the body), cholesterol (excess salt in the blood, which leads to high or low blood pressure), deteriorating bones, heart disease, blood clots (the halt of blood circulating around the heart) and so much more.

As of 2009, Australia has become the leading country with problems of obesity, especially amongst children and older parents/grandparents. In Australia alone, there are 1.5 million people under 18 that are obese. It is so common, in fact, that the government has decided to take more action against it than it has in the past.

The Australian Government is currently considering introducing a program to the Child Protection System. This program will be divided into two sects: increasing tax on fattening foods that are constantly consumed by children, or else taking children away from their parents to a program/service that will educate them and help them with their weight issues.

Dr Shirley Alexander from Westmead Children's Hospital has written a report in which she states that child obesity is linked with child abuse. She has also stated that the program will not necessarily take the child away from their parents if the parents are able and willing to help their child in losing weight and becoming healthier. As she has said:

"These are rare extreme cases and I would just like to say also that when you involve child protection services, it doesn't automatically mean immediately that the child is going to be taken away from the family.

"What we are saying is that we need to start having some options, because we get to a stage where our options are running out and we are not able to help these families for whatever reasons. Either the parents are unable or unwilling to follow the advice from the weight management program."

Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietics at the University of Newcastle, Professor Clare Collins, has talked about the ‘controversial’ idea of removing children from their parents because of their weight. She has also talked about the program that will tax fattening foods. In a recent interview, she has stated:

"We need some drastic action, some social engineering," she said.

"It's always controversial, as is banning advertising of junk food to children, there's so many vested interests but if you use the dollars to subsidise vegetables and fruit and make it so cheap that you'd be crazy not to be eating it."

No official statement has been given by the government as of yet, however there is an obesity inquiry from the Federal Government touring the country, asking for communities opinions on the two issues at hand. Statements from the parliament will be reported later this year.

Do you think that taxing fatty foods and taking extremely obese children from their parents is the right thing to do? Personally, I do not agree to it, but there is some logic in it. If parents are unwilling or simply too lazy to do anything for their child, who is at risk, then action needs to be taken. Children die very often because of obesity, and unless something is done, then the problem of bad health and obesity will continue. If people understand that eating healthily is much better for them, there might be a turnover. We have the technology, the money, and the advertising to do so. Yet why is it so hard? If you can, please inform people who have not heard of this, for they don’t know what could happen to their child if they do not help their child [it isn’t necessarily bad, trying to get them to be healthier, but taking them away is a pretty horrible thing]. Seeing a paediatrician, or even a GP or specialist will help you very much in trying to get your child’s eating habits on track. Hopefully, if more people are educated about this and begin helping their child, the Government will not consider taking the children away from their parents to programs for losing weight.

If you want more information, then I suggest you look at:

Abc.com,
Child-Obesity.info,
Asso.org