Ohio puts 200-pound third-grader in foster care

[maiforpeace]

http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-puts-200-pou ... 32515.html

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio third-grader who weighs more than 200 pounds has been taken from his family and placed into foster care after county social workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight.
The Plain Dealer reports that the Cleveland 8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for such diseases as diabetes and hypertension.
The case is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue.
Lawyers for the mother say the county overreached when authorities took the boy last week. They say the medical problems he is at risk for do not yet pose an imminent danger.
A spokeswoman says the county removed the child because caseworkers saw his mother's inability to reduce his weight as medical neglect.

I guess that means no more Happy Meals.

[klr]

http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-puts-200-pou ... 32515.html

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio third-grader who weighs more than 200 pounds has been taken from his family and placed into foster care after county social workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight.
The Plain Dealer reports that the Cleveland 8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for such diseases as diabetes and hypertension.
The case is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue.
Lawyers for the mother say the county overreached when authorities took the boy last week. They say the medical problems he is at risk for do not yet pose an imminent danger.
A spokeswoman says the county removed the child because caseworkers saw his mother's inability to reduce his weight as medical neglect.

I guess that means no more Happy Meals.

A 200-pound eight year old? Who are they trying to kid?

[Svartalf]

how tall is he for his age?

[klr]

how tall is he for his age?

It doesn't say how tall he is, but let's put it this way: 8 year-old boys tend not to have had their growth spurt yet. His BMI (Body Mass Index) must be truly frightening.

[Kristie]

My average sized 8 year old nephew weights around 50 lbs. I can't image him weighing more than me!

[klr]

Assuming he's around 4 1/2 feet tall, or a little higher - a rough guess - then his BMI would be about 45. That would be "Obese Class III" on a WHO scale, which has a lower threshold of 40.

[klr]

To flesh this out (pardon the pun), here is a BMI chart for boys/young men, which emphasises age as well:


He is an 8-year old with a ratio of kg/m2 (kilograms per metres squared) of 25. In other words, he's well above the highest line on this chart.

EDIT: Hold on ... his ratio is actually ... ... about 45, i.e. the actual BMI. So "off the scale" is a good description.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

how tall is he for his age?

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/break ... 1249.shtml Pix.

[Schneibster]

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/11 ... child.html

There's more to the story, including a real kicker at the end.