Medical Neglect Essay

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

Background & Audience Relevance: Childhood Obesity can have an impact on a child’s physical, social, and emotional health. That is why you should be informed and know the outcomes when a child is obese.

It seems as if medical neglect happens too often in pediatrics. Medical neglect is when a parent fails to adequately care for their child, when those cares are pertinent to treating an illness or physical injury. In the two years that I have worked in pediatrics, I have seen many of these cases. The majority of the time, it occurs with our chronic patients who are medically heavy, time consuming, hospitalized a lot, and the parents do not adequately take care of them. In this paper, I am going to discuss a case of medical neglect that I have encountered in a child who had received a heart transplant.

Over the past few decades an epidemic has occurred called childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is defined as a child having his/her BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 94% among children in the same age and gender group. One third of American children are overweight and over 15% are obese (Lanham, 2009). Research and documentation is without dispute, our children are not just overweight, but physically and mentally becoming ill. Specialists are seeing specific life-threatening medical conditions, all associated with childhood weight issues. An unhealthy lifestyle is the number one factor in childhood obesity. However, many researchers believe the parents are to blame. Recently, the United States is evolving its legal definition of child abuse to include child obesity. Prosecutors propose that it is time for legal intervention, as parents are failing to provide a healthy environment for children. Others argue that the government has become increasingly intrusive in private matters. Should a law consider childhood obesity abuse? Are there other options that could create change, without legal prosecution and the dismantling of the American family?

In the St. Louis, the state of Missouri, by 2008, the state ranked the 27th in overall prevalence of obese numbers in children. According to the 2008 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS), 30% of low income children aged between 2-5 were overweight in Missouri. This all started in 2003 when the rate of children falling obese continuing to rise. According to a study done by Christina, about 43% of children in the United states have at least 1-2 chronic heal conditions which increases to a 54.1% when the child is overweight. This shows that being obese also increases the risks of fatality of an illness in an individual. A different study done by (Kamath, Celia et al 4615) revealed that prevention of the condition is better than trying to manage the condition as pediatric efforts do not play a huge role in reducing the BMI and changes are seen after a very long time. It however can be helpful to those who already had the condition for instance the children who have inherited the condition can be helped through pediatric efforts to manage themselves and maintain their health.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic and continues to be the focus at the national level (Washington, Reifsnider, Bishop, Ethington, & Ruffin, 2010). Furthermore, many comorbidities and health issues, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and depression are associated with this disease. Hence, combating childhood obesity would involve a collaborative multidisciplinary team consisting of family members, the client, health care providers, and policymakers. Therefore, radical changes need to be implemented into law to combat this issue. As a health care provider, this writer has seen the devastation that childhood obesity has not only on the child, but the family as well and wishes to propose a

Socially, obese children are more susceptible to teasing and discrimination. ("Obesity Action Coalition » What is Childhood Obesity?", 2017). Several states have been discussing with the suggestion that parents should be charged or prosecuted with abuse or neglect if their children are morbidly obese. The argument is that some parents are unwilling to control their child’s weight, even when it is medically ordered. But none of states have a statute that specifically addresses the circumstances in which a severely obese child may be considered "neglected" or "medically neglected." (Darwin,

Obesity rates in the United States have been increasing ever since the fifties. The 1950s is widely known as the time period when unhealthy habits, harmful methods of shedding pounds, and obesity became commonplace. Childhood Obesity, an article concerned with the rising issue, states that according to the American Medical Association, in 2009 there were 12.5 million obese children in the United States. Obesity rates in children are of particular concern, and an understanding of the factors impacting this phenomenon is important if there is to be any hope of reversing the trend. Because obesity in American children is becoming normal, guardians should attempt to deliver healthy children and regulate children’s diets and activities in a stricter manner.

With the recently documented increases in prevalence’s dating as late back as to 1980, pediatric obesity now represents one of the most pressing nutritional problems facing children in the United States today. International population studies report comparable rates of increase, so that if current trends remain unchecked, childhood obesity is likely to challenge worldwide public health. Substantial consequences to physical and mental health, both short and long term, must be anticipated.

In the article, “Should parents loose custody of their extremely obese kids?”, Bonnie Rochman’s (2011) opinion states that obese children should be taken away from their parents when illness threatens them.

Children are our future, and therefore, everyone should protect the young community. Childhood obesity is an epidemic that should be prevented. Children have the right to live a long, healthy life. However, the rise of obesity is affecting the young community. Childhood obesity attains negative repercussions. Yes, doctors have found many ways to combat obesity. As a matter of fact, they emphasize how important one’s health is. It is crucial to acknowledge that obesity alters a child’s health. Obesity has the power to affect a child mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Currently, in my facility, we do have a patient is weight 500s lbs. How could a person be like that? Neglect from family? However, this patient is an adult so it does not count neglect. How about Mr. C.? He reports he has always been heavy, even as a small child. Does childhood obesity ever consider medical neglect? According to Varness, Allen, Carrel, & Fost (2009, p.405) " 3 conditions must be met to justify state intervention, that is, a high likelihood of serious imminent harm, a reasonable likelihood that coercive state intervention will result in effective treatment, and the absence of alternative options to address the problem". Personally, the obesity of children can be prevented. As a parent, one needs to cultivate children right concept of health diet and type. Otherwise, in the moral, we are still considered neglect children.

Purpose of the Study: Childhood obesity is a growing, public health disorder that has actually been turned into a disease because it is so ordinary, now, in many Americans. When it comes to childhood obesity, most people ask why the parents are not doing something about it or why they did not interfere, earlier, before the disease came to be obesity. Traditionally, being a fat kid meant being a healthy and strong kid, a kid who was likely to survive the diligence of gaunt and viruses or infection.

Within the past three decades, the childhood obesity rate has increased three-hundred percent (Crouse par. 3). This also means that ten percent of children worldwide are overweight or obese (“Childhood Obesity” par. 33). According to the Centers for Disease Control being overweight is defined as, “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water or a combination of these factors.” On the other hand, they define obesity as having excess body fat (“Child Obesity Facts” par.1). A child is determined as overweight or obese when total body weight is more than twenty-five percent in boys and thirty-two percent in girls (Green ??). Childhood obesity is not just something that influences someone’s life as an

Childhood obesity is a disease where excess body fat affects a child's health or wellbeing. With the number of children affected by the disease increasing, it is important to understand the consequences. Not only will obesity influence a child’s physical heath, but it can also affect their emotional and social health as well. Acknowledging that obesity is a preventable disease should help lower the number of children affected by it. It is not about dieting; it is a lifestyle change that should be adopted and practiced by the whole family. Being obese increases a child's risk of being an obese adult. I will argue that parent education regarding the physical and emotional effects of childhood obesity can protect the lives of children.