It is no secret that America is experiencing a child obesity epidemic. But this story reveals how severe the problem truly is.

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The Associated Press reports that an 8-year-old boy from Cleveland was taken from his family because he weighs more than 200 pounds.

The boy was removed from his family and was placed in foster care in October after county case workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The boy, at his weight, is considered at risk for developing such diseases as diabetes and high blood pressure. Government growth charts say most boys his age weigh about 60 pounds.

The article also cites experts who claim taking obese children from their parents is sometimes a good option because keeping them with their families may not be in the best interest of the child.

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital Boston, said the point isn’t to blame parents but rather to act in children’s best interest and get them help their parents can’t provide. Dr. Norman Fost, a medical ethicist at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus, said Monday that foster care wouldn’t cure the Ohio boy’s obesity but might help. “The goal is to make him less obese,” he said.

What do you think? If a child is obese, do you feel city or state authorities should intervene? Or do you feel this is overreaching by the government?

Check out the rest of the story at the Associated Press.

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