Childhood Obesity -- Should it be a crime?

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

First, there can be a ton of reasons why a kid would be overweight. It could flat out be an unhealthy lifestyle, like you said. But there are a myriad of medical reasons for obesity, it could also be a thyroid problem, a genetic condition, a psychological problem, etc. And a bigger concern: a financial problem.

You guys may take this as ignorant, and perhaps it is, but i've always wondered that if all of the above cited reasons for obesity were so prevalent, why is it that we don't see all of these 300 lb behemoth's in third world countries? Say what you want, how you want it, but the simple truth is that you CANNOT be overweight if you are not consuming more calories than you are burning. Period.

Now I'm not a doctor, don't even play one on tv, but it's simple common sense. I do not doubt the validity of each and every one of those medical conditions which Schneed mentions, but I believe the VAST majority of the grossly overweight children you see are a product of lazy lifestyles and ridiculously unhealthy diets. These terribly unfit parents who allow, or God forbid ENCOURAGE this lifestyle in their children, are the first to come up with excuse after excuse mostly involving false claims pertaining to the aforementioned conditions. In these cases, I see no issue with prosecuting those who, after receiving education and subsequent monitoring, continue endangering the health of their children.