Childhood Obesity -- Should it be a crime?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

But, and I might be mistaken here, but haven't criminal charges been filed against parents for malnourishing their kids (i.e not giving them enough to eat)? Is this much different, or is it now about how much they are given to eat but given the right things to eat?

Great point. My understanding is that such charges are typically filed when the child is on death's door. Whereas a child can die within a matter of weeks from severe malnutrition, kids are not likely to die within a matter of weeks from being overfed. Moreover, whereas the failure to adequately feed a child is usually a sign of serious neglect, overfeeding a child is typically just a sign of a lack of education. It's one thing to punish people for seriously neglecting their kids, it's quite another IMO to punish them for being ignorant.

Even assuming legislatures started enacting such legislation, how would it be enforced? Do you just start pulling heavy kids off the street and locking up their parents? How would authorities determine who is to blame for the overfeeding? Do they lock up both parents even though only one controls the child's diet? Do they lock up the parents when the child's obesity is due to the kind of food that the child is buying or getting from other places (friends' houses)?