Child Abuse and Obesity

Are parents ethically responsible for the weight of their children? As the obesity rate in the United Sates rises a new from of child abuse may also be on the rise. Recently in Cleveland Ohio a third graded was taken from his family and put into a foster home because of neglect. However, this situation is unusual because unlike most cases where the child is taken from his or her family for malnourishment, this boy was taken for being over nourished. As a third grader this boy weighs over 200 pounds and is already at risk for type two diabetes and has sleep apnea. The state has accused his mother of neglect and has placed the boy in foster care.  
Is this the ethically responsible thing to do? My personal opinion is yes. The negative effects of obesity are under estimated by Jack and Jill. A recent study reported that the effects of childhood obesity have long term negative effects that are serious enough to cause parents great worry. In conclusion one doctor said to imagine a group of children on the playground with cigarettes in their hands, and then to imagine them with bellies. He said the medical risks in both situations are the same.  

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/11/28/200-pound-child-removed-from-home-because-of-weight/UPI-20971322494181/

Can't be a Sensitive Boy Anymore?

    Is it important to play your own gender role as a child. As a boy
is it necessary that you play solider and not house. Well according to
some recent studies it is. Recent studies have shown that children who
do not conform to their gender roles while playing pretend during puberty 

are at an increased risk for abuse and trauma.  Not only does their

behavior seem to attract physical abuse but it seems they are at
increased risk for PTSD. 

            In the light of this information is it important for
parents to make sure their kids fall into their particular gender
roles? This question brings up to what extent should kids be allowed
to differer from a prototypical female or male role. What is more
important, the child's freedom of expression or their potential
safety, both mental and physical? Because of this the AMA has
recommended that sex changes not be preformed on any person under the
age of 18.

       Now some doctors have started hormone treatment so
that children can age to about 16 without the onset of puberty. This
is done so that when the patient becomes 18 he or she can make a more
informed decision about a sex operation or any other permanent medical
decisions relating to their sex without becoming at increased risk for PTSD.

However have they really grown mentally to the full extent if they have 

not experienced puberty, are they able to make an informed decision?

This and many other questions surround gender uncertainty. Personally I 

believe it needs to be addressed in a case by case basis. However, maybe 

it would be wise to put kids with extreme gender uncertainty in therapy

to help avoid any future physical or mental trauma. 

http://mailview.bulletinhealthcare.com/mailview.aspx?m=2012022101ama&r=4899738-527f

Misconceptions about Mind Altering Drugs

Many of us know or know of students who have taken Ritalin or Adderall for test taking, mainly form our age group SATs. And many more of us know about the student in our second grade class room that was given similar medication or a depressant to treat ADD or ADHD when really in our opinion they were a brat that just needed to grow up. Unfortunately our negative opinions about mind altering drugs stay with us even when they are being used appropriately. I recently had a conversation with a good friend that was openly advising another friend to stop his use of antidepressants, and cease dulling his own life with drugs. The friend on antidepressants who was prescribed this medication by a professional doctor was seriously considering discontinuing his use because of the misinformation given to him and the negative connotations associated with antidepressants. I found this terribly disturbing, and after talking with him realized several misconceptions he had about antidepressants.

The first of these misconceptions was the effects of current antidepressants and how they work compared to antidepressants used up until the 1990s. I will address these misconceptions because I feel it is the primary cause of the negative feeling the general public seems to have about antidepressants.

The oldest antidepressant is opium which is a from of oxycotton. This drug is associated with the loss of feelings or care about anything. It is the source of the opinion that antidepressants cause people to feel better because they become emotionless. This drug was highly addictive and is no longer used as an antidepressant.  This opinion also comes from the use of MAOIs and some other drugs that in the dosages originally prescribed acted as low grade tranquilizers causing people to become emotional zombies so to speak. 

Another common misconception is that the use of Alcohol and a few other common food and drinks can be potentially lethal or cause suicidal thoughts while on antidepressants. This is true with old antidepressants of the MAOI category with respect to Alcohol. These drugs are very rarely used in modern medicine because of a entire parade of negative side effects. Alcohol is not advisable even with current antidepressants, but that is because alcohol is a depressant and being depressed in general makes you more susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol. 

The final misconception I will address is that taking antidepressants causes thoughts of suicide. This is technically true but statistically insignificant especially when taken into account how many people stop feeling suicidal after taking antidepressants.  In both SSRIs and SNRIs, new forms of antidepressants, these effects appear in only several cases per thousand. Although not a necessarily reputable page I advise anyone with questions about the different kinds of antidepressants to go to the wiki page on antidepressants, because it is broken down into the biochemical difference in the medications and the severity of the associated side effects. 

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2009/0500/p15.html

http://biopsychiatry.com/ssrisnri.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/maois/MH00072

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/22/60minutes/main6422159.shtml