Fatty to stay with Mummy...

[No Boss]

8 year-old that wieghs over 200lbs.

Britain lets mother keep obese son

By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 27, 9:38 PM ET

LONDON - A mother who feared she might lose custody of her obese 8-year-old son unless he lost weight was allowed to keep the boy after striking a deal Tuesday with social workers to safeguard his welfare.


The case has set off a debate over child obesity and raised questions about whether genetics, junk food or bad parenting is to blame.

Connor McCreaddie, of Wallsend in northeastern England, weighs 218 pounds, four times the weight of a healthy child his age.

Connor and his mother, Nicola McKeown, 35, both attended a child protection meeting Tuesday with North Tyneside Council officials.

Before it began, McKeown, a single mother of two, said she hoped she would not lose custody of her son.

"I'm not too good, and I'm very nervous about the meeting. I'm hoping for the best," she said.

Afterward, the Local Safeguarding Children Board issued a statement saying it "was able to confirm that its hope and ambition is to enable this child to remain with his family. In order to move this matter forward, we have made a formal agreement with the family to safeguard and promote the child's welfare."

The agency provided no details about what Connor or his mother would have to do to fight his obesity.

The hearing was held under the Children Act, which places a duty on the local authority to conduct an inquiry if it has "reasonable cause to suspect that a child ... in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm."

The boy's case attracted national attention after his mother allowed an ITV News crew to film his day-to-day life for a month.

When he was 2 1/2, Connor was too heavy for his mother to pick him up, and at 5, he weighed more than 126 pounds, said The Journal, a regional newspaper. Now the boy, who is tall for his age at 5 feet, wears adult clothes and size eight shoes, the newspaper said.

Sky TV showed footage of Connor's mother serving him meals of french fries, meat and buttered bread.

"He'll hover around the kitchen for food. He'll continually go in the fridge," McKeown said of her son. "I just keep telling him to get out of the fridge, wait until meal times and stuff. But at the end of the day, he was born hungry. He has always been hungry."

"Bacon. Mmmm... That's my favorite. Um ... chicken , steak, sausage," the boy told the camera.

Obesity is essentially caused by eating more calories than you burn. Obese people are sometimes thought to have lower metabolic rates than normal, meaning they need less food to maintain their weight.

Childhood obesity is of particular concern because it greatly increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, skeletal disorders and strokes. Certain cancers are also associated with obesity, and obese children have a higher chance of premature death.

Several genetic conditions also contribute to obesity, such as Prader-Willis syndrome, a rare disease characterized by excessive appetite, problems in the central nervous system and a low IQ. Another rare genetic disease, Bradet-Biedl syndrome, can lead to problems such as vision loss, obesity and being born with extra fingers and toes.

Levels of obesity have tripled in England since 1980, according to the Food Standards Agency. More than half of women and about two-thirds of men are either overweight or obese, it said. Obesity causes about 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths a year in England alone, the National Audit Office said.

It remained unclear whether doctors had determined whether diet and lifestyle were the only cause of Connor's obesity.

Neville Rigby, a director at the International Association for the Study of Obesity in London, declined to discuss Connor's case. But he said the public often stigmatizes overweight people without knowing their situation and assumes they are guilty of self neglect.

"Obesity and diabetes used to be seen as middle-age problems, but now we're seeing more and more children with both problems," Rigby said.

"But remember, in this era of nonstop advertising about low-nutrient, high-calorie foods, many parents find it difficult to tear their children from sweets and persuade them to eat fruit and vegetables."

He said he hoped social workers would find out what has caused Connor's obesity.

I've been following this story for a few days, It is seriously disgusting. My girlfriends mother and father have a similar problem with her little brother but it's more a case of "EXTREMLY picky eating" than letting your kid eat everything terrible for him.

On a side note.... I thoguht this was funny.

OMG HE'S BIGGER THAN TEH BULIDING!!!1!1!

[countvlad]

He looks like the kind of obsese incosiderate monkey that u gace allways hated. However this policy is not sustainable when we have limited places in care homes and even less so as a result of the governments stupid new laws that mean a load of catholic care homes have to close.

I say send that fat bastard to the clinic.

[Firecat]

If he is this overweight because the mother overfeeds him, I think that can be considered child abuse. I'm just sayin'......

[No Boss]

Originally Posted by Firecat

If he is this overweight because the mother overfeeds him, I think that can be considered child abuse. I'm just sayin'......

It's not so much that she OVERfeeds him, she just allows him to eat anything and everything he wants with no rules. From what I understand, she's a lunatic woman that thinks allowing her son to be morbidly obese is easier to deal with than hearing him complain for a few hours about eating somthing not fried in lard.

[vRS]

Take the c of chips and what do you get? Its his life hes ruining, I'm about double his age and weigh just over 6 stone less than this kid and I like my grub.

[epp_b]

Obesity is essentially caused by eating more calories than you burn.

Thank-you, Captain Obvious!

[cvrefugee]

Originally Posted by epp_b

Thank-you, Captain Obvious!

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by epp_b

Thank-you, Captain Obvious!

News articles are almost always written in an obvious/fluffy manner.

[Jacobfox]

I would get a padlock and chain and wrap up the fridge and cabinets. The kid isn't smart enough to stockpile food yet. so make him run for it (3 miles on a treadmill or no food).

Give the mom a crash course in nutrition.

If that fails, give him to CPS.

[Blind_Io]

No, give him over to my brother for a few months. He will PT that little fat bastard until he's a shadow of his former self.

For those of you who don't know, my brother is a 2nd Lt. in the US Army - he's a Paratrooper and is going to Ranger School as soon as he finishes OBC.

[NecroJoe]

8 year-old at 200lbs? Pff...that's nothing.

7 year old at 400

Excuse me while I vomit a little.

[Donington]

Connor McCreaddie for England goalkeeper!

[No Boss]

Originally Posted by Donington

Connor McCreaddie for England goalkeeper!

[epp_b]

^^ Oh dear

Seriously, that is...just disgusting. I just cannot imagine letting myself get that big. The first commenter on that video has a point: if it's a biological problem, it probably would have been caught long before she hit seven years old at 400 lbs.

[No Boss]

Originally Posted by epp_b

Seriously, that is...just disgusting. I just cannot imagine letting myself get that big. The first commenter on that video has a point: if it's a biological problem, it probably would have been caught long before she hit seven years old at 400 lbs.

I agree, but a "biological problem" was my first thought. I mean, honestly, it's hard to think someone that young could eat themselves to that weight.

[countvlad]

8 year-old at 200lbs? Pff...that's nothing.

7 year old at 400

Excuse me while I vomit a little

That is sick and horrible. I cannot see how people do not catch onto the fact that they need to STOP EATING when the reach that weight.
that 7 year old weighs 28 stone. An adult in britain that weighs 28 stone would be considered to be morbidly obese.

[madpsi]

...insert obligatory video here...

+ YouTube Video

Probably a repost x1000, but had to be done...

[bone]

they aren't fat after you've seen her

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b18_1172733327

[countvlad]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

they aren't fat after you've seen her

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b18_1172733327

Its sad that her parents have let her get like that. I think it would be best for her to do periods of stavation.