Child Care Solicitors

Children are being taken into local authority care after being removed from their homes because they are officially obese.

The children are being taken into care for their own safety and one child removed from their family had a body mass index (BMI) measuring 35 – the equivalent of a six foot man weighing 19st, the Mail online reports.

The increase in children’s weight is thought not only to stem from unhealthy levels of fat and sugar in foods – but also parents unable to say no to their children’s demands for sweets and junk food like burgers and chips or kebabs and fry-ups.

Children who pile on the pounds are likely to remain overweight as adults, storing up potential health problems such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Lack of exercise is another factor in children becoming overweight – many children lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles as a result of technology advances in home entertainment. Many local playing fields have also now disappeared from communities.

A survey conducted by the Sunday Express has revealed that in the last year five seriously overweight children have been taken into care for their own protection. The children come from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, Salford and Hounslow in London.

In 2012, another five children were taken into care as a result of having been overfed by their families – they come from Sheffield, Portsmouth, Lincolnshire, Slough and Harrow in northwest London.

Child obesity is thought to cost the NHS £4.2 billion every year – and children who are seriously overweight may also face bullying at school, as well as social isolation. Figures show that children as young as 10 months old are being treated for being overweight.

In 2006, New Labour’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson first suggested that children who were overfed by their parents to the point of becoming obese should be taken in local authority care for their own good.

The government has also tried to introduce more accurate food labelling to indicate healthy foods, as well as encouraging food manufacturers to reduce levels of fat, salt and sugar in products. However, the demise of home cooked family meals and the rise of snacking on junk food – with adverts for junk food shown during children’s TV slots – has helped fuel the child obesity epidemic, according to nutrition and health experts.

The UK overall is now thought to be the fattest nation in Europe, with some estimates suggesting more than one-third of the population is now obese. The number of obese people in the UK population has tripled in the last 25 years, according to NHS figures – and by 2030 it is estimated half the UK population will be obese.

Duncan Lewis Children’s Lawyers

Duncan Lewis children’s lawyers can advise on issues such as children taken into local authority care, child contact and residence, child abuse and child abduction cases.

Duncan Lewis is also one of the UK’s leading Legal Aid firms.

For expert advice on childcare law, contact Duncan Lewis children’s lawyers on 020 7923 4020.