Imagine you are invited to a barbecue. You get there and after sitting down with your plate you notice a man with a child sitting at the table opposite yours. You see the man is giving this child a stick of butter, spoonfuls of fat and sending him down with cups full of fat. Do you think there should be consequences for this? If you do, what would be appropriate? In most states this would be considered child abuse. Child abuse is defined by the CDC as follows; “…any act or series of acts committed or omitted by a parent that results in harm, potential harm, or threat of harm to a child.” There are strict laws against physical and sexual abuse for the health and well-being of children. These physical abuse laws should be enforced to criminally charge parents of morbidly obese children. Up to 17% of children and adolescents in the United States are obese (Centers). Obesity is unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise and is responsible for up to 365,000 deaths each year. Obesity is strongly associated with a decrease in exercise capacity. An overabundance of adipose tissue, due to obesity, compromises the respiratory process. Impairment of respiratory processes in youth has been linked to more harmful respiratory problems in adulthood. The lack of exercise that sets a child on this path can be reversed and parents can instill good exercise habits. So, if 1 in 3 children is obese, what does this say about the health and well-being of these children? It is said that these children can expect a life full of medical problems, emotional problems and higher costs than their non-obese peers. The most urgent of which are heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lung disease... the focus of the article... 1Marder, William D. and Stella Chang. “Childhood Obesity: Costs, Treatment Patterns, Treatment Disparities, and Prevalent Medical Conditions.” Brief Thomson Medstat research. Network. 5, September 2011. Ogilvie, Jessica Pauline. “Pros/Cons: Does Obesity Qualify as Child Abuse?” Chicago Tribune. 29, August 2011. Web. August 31, 2011. Sugarman, Stephen D., and Nirit Sandman. “Fighting Childhood Obesity Through Performance-Based Regulation of the Food Industry.” 2007. Network. 5, September 2011. US Department of Education Institute of Educational Sciences. Graphic. Projections of education statistics through 2011. U.S. Department of Education, 2001. Web. August 24, 2011. Viner, Russell M, and Tim J Cole. “Socioeconomic, Educational, Social, and Psychological Outcomes of Childhood Obesity in Adults: A National Birth Cohort Study.” British Medical Journal 330. 1354. Web. 30 August 2011.