The War on Bad Parenting
David Katz has a deeply troubling suggestion in the Huffington Post. After reading an editorial by Lindsey Murtagh and David Ludwig, Katz comes to the conclusion that, in cases of extreme childhood obesity, the state should be prepared to take children away from their parents. At least, he thinks we shouldn’t laugh off the idea. Murtagh and Ludwig provide such a convincing argument. Obesity, Katz argues, is not so different than any other addiction, and giving children fatty foods is not so different from giving them cigarettes or drugs.
Writes Katz:
Data from the CDC indicate that children growing up in the United States today will suffer more chronic disease and premature death over their lifetimes from eating badly and lack of physical activity than from exposure to alcohol, tobacco and drugs combined. If the principle we care about is protecting children from harm, the practice should pertain to all threats comparably. At present, it does not. We are feeding our children to death.
Obesity is not the fault of its many victims, but it’s no joke either. I
