The group's website, http://www.naafa.org, also has an update regarding how the judge
in this case has thrown
out almost everyone who wished to testify on behalf of the parents. He has also
banned the media from the
courtroom...
But I'm sure there is at least one member of this list, one who has consistently
displayed a prejudice against
women who don't measure up to some arbitrary standard of beauty, who will agree with
the state's decision to
take the child away from its parents... :-7
----- Original Message -----
NAAFA Speaks Out Against Removing Fat Toddler from Home
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) Outraged as State
Seizes Child from Parents for Not Controlling her Weight.
Sacramento, CA, August 30,2000.
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is speaking out against
the practice of removing
children from their homes simply because they are fat. This issue has recently moved
to the fore as the New
Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department removed Anamarie Martinez-Rodrigo from
her home last week. The
parents say they lost custody of the 3-year-old girl because they couldn't control her
weight.
According to Monika Mahal, the child's physician, Anamarie Martinez-Rodrigo is 3-feet
tall and weighs 120
pounds, 50 percent taller and three times heavier than the average three-year-old.
Monika Mahal advised that
the child be removed from the parents custody.
Miguel Regino and Adela Martinez say they have done everything they can for their
daughter, including taking
her to the doctor and following the doctor's directions implicitly. They are
particularly confused about the
sudden "life threatening nature" of Anamarie's weight, as tests conducted one month
ago showed no undue stress
on Anamarie's heart.
Doctors frankly admit that they don't know why Anamarie is large for her age. Some
tests have been conducted
and many common causes have been ruled out. According to an article recently run in
the ABQ Journal, Dr.
Moody, who is in practice with Dr. Mahal admits, "I think everyone agrees that she has
a slow metabolism and
it is felt that she needs a very small number of calories per day. So I think it's
hard to say it's
overeating in the normal sense of the word." Yet Anamarie has been removed from the
only home she knows
because her parents can't control her weight.
"I am astonished that there is anyone remaining in the medical community that would
stretch the definition of
abuse to include obesity, especially with a child," said Registered Dietitian and
Psychotherapist, Mary Sue
Aberenthy, MA. RD. Children are innately self-regulating regarding eating especially
at the younger ages.
Have you ever tried to feed a toddler more than they are hungry for? Usually it ends
up on the floor or your
face, as they will spit it out even with great coaxing. Young children generally know
when they are full and
stop eating."
NAAFA medical experts also feel that the treatment prescribed by Anamarie's doctors
may ultimately make her
even larger. "We know for a fact that diets don't work in the long term," said
Aberenthy. "Many studies show
that diets based on food restriction result in permanent weight loss less than five
percent of the time.
Furthermore, these restrictions often slow down the metabolism and cause disordered
eating habits. The net
result is that most people end up larger than they started."
Regardless of the medical facts of the case, removing a child from the home simply
because she's fat sets a
very frightening legal precedent. "Anamarie, just like other children with physical
challenges, needs the
united support of her family, friends, doctors, and community, said Sondra Solovay,
JD, a legal consultant on
weight-related issues and author of the book Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting
Weight-Based
Discrimination.
"Instead of supporting the family and diagnosing any problems the little girl may
have, the state and doctors
are blaming the family for the girl's weight. Legally, the case is outrageous. It is
a threat to all the
parents of fat children. Custody decisions should always be based on fact, not
prejudice. Here the state
police have become the food police and a child was removed from a loving home just for
being fat."
"Frankly this is very frightening," said NAAFA chairwoman Leslie Di Maggio. I'm fat,
and I raised a fat
child. It's frightening to think that I could have been charged with abuse and my
child could have been taken
from me simply because he weighed more than the national average. As chairwoman, I
see this as a very
important human rights issue for NAAFA. We are going to fight for the rights of these
children and their
parents. I find it difficult to believe that Anamarie's weight will have as profound
an effect on her health
as the emotional scars she will bear from being wrenched from her home at such a
tender age."
###
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