News report here in England. For those of you not familiar with what 4st means, it's 4 stones, one stone equals 14 pounds. So she should have weighed about 28 pounds but weighed 84 instead, at the age of 3.

Obesity Kills Three-Year-Old Girl

A three-year-old girl has died from heart failure brought on through obesity, it has emerged.

The news comes as ministers and food industry chiefs face mounting pressure after a damning report condemned them for failing to tackle Britain's obesity epidemic.

The Commons Health Committee warned that obese children could become the first generation to die before their parents.

One specialist consultant cited the case of a three-year-old dying from heart failure where extreme obesity was a contributory factor.

The dead youngster was a Bengali girl from east London, the Daily Mail reported. She should have weighed around 2st 4lb but had a Body Mass Index (BMI) that equated to around 6st.

Dr Nigel Meadows, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal London Hospital, told the newspaper: "It was a shocking case. You don't imagine your kid is just going to die of obesity. The parents were devastated.

"Some may say the parents are responsible, but if a child is demanding food it can be very difficult to refuse it.''

The committee's report criticised ministers, the NHS, food manufacturers and advertisers for not doing enough to improve the nation's health and raise awareness of the risks of being overweight or obese.

The report made recommendations to kick-start action amid gloomy predictions of a future where serious diseases caused by obesity are common.

Not all the measures were welcomed by the food industry, while the Health Secretary John Reid said individuals also had a major role to play in their own health.

The report calculates that being overweight or obese costs the nation £7.4billion a year.

The committee called for a voluntary withdrawal of TV advertising of junk food to children - but warned that if action was not taken within three years, the Government should step in to introduce more direct regulation.

The MPs said a "traffic light'' system should be introduced on food labelling to show consumers the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods. Red would indicate foods high in calories, amber for medium levels and green for low.

Legislation won't help if the legistators consider low-fat, high carb the way to go or if they follow the Diabetic or Heart Foundation diets.

We also have no details of why the girl was obese. Maybe there was something else going on -- something congenital. It's like the reports of Dr. Atkins' death. This girl's death will be used to sensationalize obesity.

That's right, I agree.

The jails wouldn't be able to hold all those convicted I'm afraid.

I personally think health insurances rates need to be tied to weight. The health provider I have charges an additional premium if you smoke. Being obese carries the same number of health risks.

I guess I'm cranky from my low carb intake this morning (see the cranky thread )

I liked the idea of not marketing to children on the TV. They are constantly bombarded with ads for sweet cereals, fast food, etc.

However I think since more and more families have either 2 working parents or a single mother it is very easy to buy convenience foods to save on time after work or for breakfast. As well as quick and handy snacks and chips.

That along with less activity from computers, video games and tv.

Sorry, I didn't like the crack about single mothers and working parents. I raised my child from birth by myself and I worked full time. I always MADE time to fix him a hot breakfast (never cereal) and made sure to pack a healthy lunch. I think stating that there are some parents that just don't make the time or care enough to feed their children properly would have sufficed.

I know what you mean Hellistile, I was a single parent for a while too and always feed my kid a good breakfast.

We have to take into consideration that it's not all the parents fault either, just like adults, kids may have a problem too, perhaps thyroids. Not sure if kids can have that problem so young but the point is the finger shouldn't be pointed at the parents all the time, especially not without proof of neglect.

I'm sure her parents were devastated by her death- how very sad! I can't imagine losing one of mine.

As a side note--
In my working days (prechildren), we had many children admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis- failure to thrive. Usually meant malnourished and poor parent-child interaction and care. I've seen parents give a baby a baby bottle of soda because "they won't drink anything else".
- soapbox- Excuse me, who's the parent??

That is so sad. I saw a special on television once about severely obese children and it was hard to watch. One child was removed from the home and naturally lost weight after the parents swore it was not possible. There is also a form of retardation, and I apologize for not knowing the name offhand, where children have uncontrollable appetite problems and tend to be obese. So, the factors that cause childhood obesity, at least the severe forms, seem to vary widely.

I don't think legislation is needed because these problem cases are already covered under child abuse and neglect. In some cases, it is considered medical neglect. The last thing we need is more laws!

I was a single parent for my kids from the time they were toddlers to the time they were adults. Gosh it was hard! But let's not gang up on someone who stated an indisputed fact. Nearly every long term study shows that children from single parent households struggle harder in a number of areas. And the economics of being a single parent seem to have a lot to do with it. I think I was a great parent, but overall, kids do better in two-parent homes. That is just a general rule so of course there are wonderful exceptions. But I don't think the poster was making a false statement .

Orchid

While it's true that weight carries health risks of its own, knowing what we know about LC, it seems like that wouldn't be fair. Especially because of the LF propaganda and things like the government endorsed food pyramid. Or most doctors and dieticians. For those who don't know better, they'll be trying to same unsuccessful way to lose weight.

Orchidday, the disease you are thinking of is Prader-Willy syndrome. There are others that cause an inability to feel satisfied after eating.

"I think I was a great parent, but overall, kids do better in two-parent homes. "

Mine were almost 2 and 5 months when my marraige broke up. I was going to comment on the previous post about single parents, but others did well enough on that. I had to comment on this.

Mine are now 19 and 22. With few exceptions, their friends are from two parent households. And let me tell you....these kids are messed up! Some of them dangerously so!

It's not the number of parents, it's not the race, religion, gender, etc of the parents that matters, it's the quality of the parenting.

I've held my breath for a long time, and they're still not completely grown, but I am very proud of the way they're turning out. And I cannot believe they would have been better off with their father living here! He's an alcoholic gambler who only thinks of his family as an after-thought.

Sorry, again, maybe I'm an exception, but I don't think so.

True...it's difficult to refuse your child food (personally, I've never done that nor would I likely consider doing so), but that doesn't mean that you have to give in to every demand they make for JUNK food!
Let's make a distinction here. By all means, feed your children! BUT...feed them healthy food without 1/4 cup of sugar added to each and every serving. Veggies, fruits, cheese, yogurt, nuts, whole grains and such. Encourage them to drink water when they are thirsty instead of sugar-filled pop or "fruit" juices that have very little fruit juice, if any, in them and instead are nothing better than high fructose corn syrup with a little flavoring (and maybe a few drops of real fruit juice) added.
Since I've been low carbing, I always offer my girls healthy snacks and it's my policy that if they turn up their noses at a healthy snack (something that they would normally eat), then they weren't really hungry after all.
You know you've had an impact when your kids get excited when they find a bag of baby carrots and ranch dressing in the grocery bag!

How sad for these parents who, I'm sure, had no idea that the life of their child was in danger. I know how devastated I would be if I were to lose one of my children.

Legislation? I would like to see stricter controls and guidelines in the marketing of junk food to children and I would definitely like to see pop machines and vending machines removed from schools. Manufacturers understand the power of "the pester factor" when they aim their ads at children. In fact, they're counting on it. What this does, though, is undermine parental authority and make parents "the bad guy" for saying no to unhealthy food. Think about it...how many commercials have you heard with the words, "Kids, ask your parents for _____ (fill in the blank with the latest rage junk food)"?

We're starting to teach our kids to think critically when it comes to commercials and the perfect opportunity came up last week. While we were watching TV, there were 3 different commercials for 3 different brands of laundry detergent within a 30 minute period, each claiming to be "the best" at getting out stains. We asked our girls if all 3 of them could be "the best" at the same time. They agreed that only 1 could be "the best" or at most, they might be equally good. It opened up a good discussion about commercials and what they are intended to do (make you want the product) and that not everything a commercial claims is necessarily the whole truth.

Great parenting Mom. Good for you for raising great kids.

Let me tell you, statistics may show that kids do better in a two parent home but that is not always the case. Just cause a child(ren) grow up with one parent or two doesn't mean they will turn out bad or good for that matter. It's how they are brought up, what values they are taught and whether or not they were shown love, affection, and support. My Mom was a single Mom for a long time, and damn it I turned out good.