ktlight
19th July 2011, 08:01
FYI:
A pediatrician in Boston named David Ludwig has been sharply criticized over the past week for suggesting that obese children might be taken away from their parents by state authorities for their own safety. In his article, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he explains that taking these children away from their natural parents and putting them in foster care might, as a "last resort," be the most ethical choice.
His article expresses concern about the over-use of bariatric surgery on children and teens, and he's looking for an alternative solution that would help these children avoid surgery, which is dangerous and sometimes even deadly. His suggestion that the state might take these children away from their parents in some cases, however, strikes many people as over-the-top outlandish, especially given the truth that state foster care workers are, for the most part, obese people themselves!
Dr. Ludwig is a practicing physician as Boston's Children's Hospital, where he no doubt sees an endless stream of obese children come and go. He is also a recipient of grant money from the National Institutes of Health.
The article published in JAMA is entitled, "State Intervention in Life-Threatening Childhood Obesity". Its authors are Lindsey Murtagh, JD, MPH, and David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD.
Here are some of the highlights of the article, as reprinted from JAMA:
• "Ubiquitous junk food marketing, lack of opportunities for physically active recreation, and other aspects of modern society promote unhealthful lifestyles in children. Inadequate or unskilled parental supervision can leave children vulnerable to these obesigenic environmental influences."
(I completely agree. Dr. Ludwig is absolutely right about this point.)
• "...poor parenting is analogous to secondhand smoke in the home..."
This is starting to get into dangerous territory that could justify the state kidnapping children who don't offer "proper parenting." By this logic, many parents who engage in home schooling could also be targeted, especially if they don't like their children to receive vaccines or chemotherapy.
• "Because of the poor outcome of conventional treatment for pediatric obesity, bariatric surgery has become increasingly considered for adolescents with type 2 diabetes. However, the long-term safety and effectiveness of this invasive procedure in adolescents remains unknown, and serious perioperative and long-term morbidity and mortality have been reported. As an alternative therapeutic approach, placement of the severely obese child under protective custody warrants discussion. "
At least he's not calling for it to be a mandatory policy. But he is calling for "discussion" of the issue, and that's where these things always start. He goes on to state that doctors in many states are required to contact Child Protective Services and "tattle" on the parents of obese children, resulting in those children being taken away by CPS workers:
source to read more
http://www.naturalnews.com/033046_obese_children_government_intervention.html
A pediatrician in Boston named David Ludwig has been sharply criticized over the past week for suggesting that obese children might be taken away from their parents by state authorities for their own safety. In his article, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he explains that taking these children away from their natural parents and putting them in foster care might, as a "last resort," be the most ethical choice.
His article expresses concern about the over-use of bariatric surgery on children and teens, and he's looking for an alternative solution that would help these children avoid surgery, which is dangerous and sometimes even deadly. His suggestion that the state might take these children away from their parents in some cases, however, strikes many people as over-the-top outlandish, especially given the truth that state foster care workers are, for the most part, obese people themselves!
Dr. Ludwig is a practicing physician as Boston's Children's Hospital, where he no doubt sees an endless stream of obese children come and go. He is also a recipient of grant money from the National Institutes of Health.
The article published in JAMA is entitled, "State Intervention in Life-Threatening Childhood Obesity". Its authors are Lindsey Murtagh, JD, MPH, and David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD.
Here are some of the highlights of the article, as reprinted from JAMA:
• "Ubiquitous junk food marketing, lack of opportunities for physically active recreation, and other aspects of modern society promote unhealthful lifestyles in children. Inadequate or unskilled parental supervision can leave children vulnerable to these obesigenic environmental influences."
(I completely agree. Dr. Ludwig is absolutely right about this point.)
• "...poor parenting is analogous to secondhand smoke in the home..."
This is starting to get into dangerous territory that could justify the state kidnapping children who don't offer "proper parenting." By this logic, many parents who engage in home schooling could also be targeted, especially if they don't like their children to receive vaccines or chemotherapy.
• "Because of the poor outcome of conventional treatment for pediatric obesity, bariatric surgery has become increasingly considered for adolescents with type 2 diabetes. However, the long-term safety and effectiveness of this invasive procedure in adolescents remains unknown, and serious perioperative and long-term morbidity and mortality have been reported. As an alternative therapeutic approach, placement of the severely obese child under protective custody warrants discussion. "
At least he's not calling for it to be a mandatory policy. But he is calling for "discussion" of the issue, and that's where these things always start. He goes on to state that doctors in many states are required to contact Child Protective Services and "tattle" on the parents of obese children, resulting in those children being taken away by CPS workers:
source to read more
http://www.naturalnews.com/033046_obese_children_government_intervention.html