A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could Be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

By Opal Dockery

A CONSIDERATION THAT CHILDHOOD OBESITY COULD BE CLASSIFIED AS LEGALIZED CHILD ABUSE is a first of its kind reference book to show a direct link between Childhood Obesity and Child Abuse. Childhood obesity is a preventable medical disorder that fulfills the legal definition of Child Abuse. Through extensive research, and finding that it captures the lives of children and is transferred to adulthood, remaining a constant lifelong problem, this book shows and educates the reader that Childhood Obesity could and should be considered a legalized form of Child Abuse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312632134

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A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could Be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could Be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

By Opal Dockery

A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could Be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

By Opal Dockery

Copyright @ 2010 by Opal Dockery

Second Printing Ebook Edition 2014

Dixie Publishing Company

P.O. Box 364

Lamar, Missouri 64759

ISBN: 978-1-312-63213-4

Printed in the United States of America

All Rights Reserved

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to all the suffering obese and overweight children of the world who are constantly beinglegally abused regarding this condition which is a major epidemic worldwide.

SPECIAL THANKS

I want to thank my son, Jack Truman, for all his dedication and loyalty he has given me, not only with the help he has provided regarding this book, but throughout all the years since his birth.

SPECIAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

I originally presented this study in the Fall of 2003 while completing my Masters Degree in Criminal Justice at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri. This study can be utilized as a stepping stone to prove that the epidemic of childhood obesity could and should be considered child abuse and legislation should be created in this regard. At this point in time, it should be considered legalized child abuse.

Due to the  high degree of the obesity epidemic that is consistently growing nationwide at a high rate of speed with no end in sight, I feel compelled and honored to present my work on this subject as a duty and an humble contribution to the World with the desire that it will make a positive difference.

ABSTRACT

Childhood obesity is a preventable medical disorder that is predominant nationwide. Since it captures the lives of children and is transferred to adulthood; thus remaining a constant, lifelong problem, it should be considered a form of child abuse. Ones suffering from this condition lack adequate skills to teach their own children methods of avoiding obesity; therefore such individuals are unwittingly guilty of legalized child abuse as were their own parents while permitting the chain of fat, which is the basis of numerous physical and mental medical problems, to progressively continue resulting in a nation of obesity.

A Consideration That Childhood Obesity Could Be Classified As Legalized Child Abuse

The predominant objective regarding the majority of parents is to create beneficial learning situations with the anticipation of a guarantee toward their children's happiness and safety that will, hopefully, be transferred throughout adulthood. The possible occurrence of detrimental events being imposed upon their children at anytime is among the largest capacities of fear possessed by numerous parents worldwide. Protecting their children as humanly as possible from such situations is paramount in the minds of most loving parents as they constantly battle against their children's experiencing the dark hand of fear and tribulation which can unsuspectingly creep into young, innocent lives without a moment's notice. It is not an uncommon attribute for devoted parents to willingly sacrifice personal needs as well as structure lifestyles pertaining to the benefit of their children by

reaching the point of possessing a desire to die for them if necessary.

In a concerted effort to protect children from various negative situations throughout life, positive learning experiences instituted by parents regarding their offspring's well-being include never talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing the street, dress warm in the winter, and never forget to always wear bicycle helmets as well as lifejackets and automobile seatbelts when necessary. But as well meaning as parents might be, various aspects of high caliber training are often innocently ignored.

Generally, this is not an intentional result of parental incompetence, but rather an example of misplaced priorities regarding the children's upbringing due to parental lack of understanding basic essential needs which serve as beneficial lifetime factors. Due to the fact that a majority of parents desire immediate gratification for their children, failure to foresee long term negative results which affect happiness and safety are frequently ignored.

One area numerous parents fail to relate that is extremely life threatening to their children resulting in detrimental, lifelong health effects is disregarding the proper type and amount of food necessary to consume as well as the sufficient degree of exercise required in order to maintain a healthy body. Parents quite often ignore the importance of a healthy diet and essential exercise for their children because they are under the false impression this type of gesture is kind while ignoring the fact that such a learned lifestyle has the strong possibility of resulting in a negative health condition known as obesity which is a result of excess body fat.

Obesity is the most common form of malnutrition in the western world (Kimberly, 1998) as well as one of the oldest documented metabolic disturbances in recorded history. A limestone statuette dating from the Stone Age has been unearthed which appears to be the most ancient example of obesity. Evidence for this preventable eating disorder is found in Egyptian mummies and Greek sculptures. This abnormality has persisted throughout the centuries, which has been

characterized by markedly different environmental stresses and dietary habits (What, 2003).

Obesity is not a simple condition of eating too much. It is now recognized that obesity is a serious, chronic disease. No human condition, not race, religion, gender, ethnicity or disease state, compares to obesity in prevalence and prejudice, mortality and morbidity, sickness and stigma (View, 2002).

Imagine ten pounds of saturated fat on the belly of an obese child. Picture something the size of a watermelon, ten pounds of greasy yellow high caloric fat. This is the equivalent amount of fat consumed by the average American each year for just cheese and does not factor in the dangerous heart-unhealthy saturated fat for ice cream, butter, or liquid milk

(Cohen, 2003).

Although this eating disorder can be defined as excess adipose tissue, body weight