Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Mother Strikes Deal to Keep Obese Boy
By COURTNEY FRENCH
AP
LONDON (Feb. 27) - A mother who feared she might lose custody of her obese 8-year-old son unless he lost weight was allowed to keep the boy Tuesday after striking a deal with social workers to safeguard his welfare.


'At Risk of Dying by the Time He's 30'
Connor McCreaddie weighs more than three times the average 8-year-old.

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The case has set off a national debate over child obesity and raised questions about whether genetics, junk food or bad parenting is to blame.

Connor McCreaddie, of Wallsend, northeastern England, weighs 218 pounds, four times the weight of a healthy child his age.

Connor and his mother, Nicola McKeown, 35, both attended a child protection meeting with North Tyneside Council officials on Tuesday.

Before it began, McKeown, a single mother of two, said she hoped she would not lose custody of her son.

"I'm not too good, and I'm very nervous about the meeting. I'm hoping for the best," she said.

Afterward, the Local Safeguarding Children Board issued a brief statement saying it "was able to confirm that its hope and ambition is to enable this child to remain with his family. In order to move this matter forward we have made a formal agreement with the family to safeguard and promote the child's welfare."

The agency provided no details about what McCreaddie or his mother would have to do to fight his obesity.

The hearing was held under the Children Act, which places a duty on the local authority to conduct an inquiry if it has "reasonable cause to suspect that a child ... in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm."




The boy's case attracted national attention after his mother allowed an ITV News crew to film his day-to-day life over the course of a month.

When he was 2 1/2 years old, he was too heavy for his mother to pick up, and at 5, he weighed more than 126 pounds, said The Journal, a northern regional newspaper. Now McCreaddie, who is tall for his age at 5 feet, wears adult clothes and size eight shoes, the newspaper said.

Sky TV also showed footage of Connor's mother serving him meals of french fries, meat and buttered bread.

"He'll hover around the kitchen for food. He'll continually go in the fridge," McKeown said about her son. "I just keep telling him to get out of the fridge, wait until meal times and stuff. But at the end of the day he was born hungry. He has always been hungry."

"Bacon. Mmmm... That's my favorite. Um ... chicken , steak, (and) sausage," the boy told the camera.

Obesity is essentially caused by eating more calories than you burn. Obese people are sometimes thought to have lower metabolic rates than normal, meaning they need less food to maintain their weight.

Childhood obesity is of particular concern because it greatly increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, skeletal disorders, and strokes. Certain cancers are also associated with obesity, and obese children have a higher chance of premature death.


Another rare genetic disease, Bradet-Biedl syndrome, can lead to problems such as vision loss, obesity, and being born with extra fingers and toes.

Levels of obesity have tripled in England since 1980, according to the Food Standards Agency. More than half of women, and about two-thirds of men are either overweight or obese, it said.

Obesity causes about 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths a year in England alone, the National Audit Office said.

Meanwhile, it remained unclear whether doctors had ever determined whether diet and lifestyle were the only cause of McCreaddie's obesity.

Neville Rigby, a director at the International Association for the Study for Obesity in London, declined to discuss Connor's case. But Rigby said the public often stigmatizes overweight people without knowing their situation and finds them guilty of self neglect until proven innocent.

"Obesity and diabetes used to be seen as middle-age problems, but now we're seeing more and more children with both problems," Rigby said.

"But remember, in this era of nonstop advertising about low-nutrient, high-calorie foods, many parents find it difficult to tear their children from sweets and persuade them to eat fruit and vegetables."

He said he hoped social workers would find out what has caused Connor's obesity and whether his mother could afford the full range of food he needed.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-02-26 18:14:05


After watching some of the Maury shows on this subject, I do think that this is a form of abuse. I don't necessarily think that it constitutes removal of a child. I do think that a parent has the responsiblity of safeguarding a child's health and watching that they don't overeat to extreme.

Message edited 2/27/2007 3:24:39 PM.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

I saw one show where the mom was putting rootbeer in the baby's botte...***?????

I feel bad for these children; they can't play or participate in the same activities as other children.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

I think that it is poor parenting but not child abuse in the sense that the child should be removed from the home.... There are hundreds of bad parenting examples and I think that this specific one shouldn't be singled out

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Um, yes. I even think its abuse when a pet owner feeds their dog or cat SO much that the animal can't play or walk, and has a shortened lifespan. So with a human being, YES!

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Yes, this child's health is in danger and parents do not appear to be doing anything to correct the behaviour or seek help.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Yes, I do think this is abusive.
Obesity is a serious problem and can cause long term health issues.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Message edited 2/27/2007 4:31:20 PM.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

While I agree that the child's weight is a terrible problem, I wonder if they have had him checked out completely by doctors. Five feet tall and size 8 shoes for an eight year old isn't normal either, so I wonder if they aren't addressing a medical issue, that combined with overeating is making the problem worse.

I also wonder if they take this child out of the home and put him in foster care, what makes them so confident that he wouldn't have the same problem with obesity there?

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

"Obesity causes about 18 million sick days"

Ok, I know there is more to it than this but, this makes me laugh....
"Sorry, but I need to call in fat. Thanks, see you tomorrow." or "I'm feeling fat today, I'm going to have to take the day off"

I have to try that some day with my boss, see what he says.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

most definitely.

and probably severe neglect. what better way to shut up a child then shoving a chicken leg in his mouth..or a cookie or a donut..what have you.

there is not way this child was THAT hungry, all the time.

on another note, Wallsend is the town that Sting was born in

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

I definitely think this is abuse. If you are feeding your child so much BAD food that he is mortally obese, then it is your fault. As a child, he can't help himself. It is your job as a PARENT to control what is available to your child.

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?

Re: Do you think this constitutes child abuse?