Can you be too fat to adopt?

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Jul 28th 2007 9:34AM

Categories: Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements

Couples and individuals have been turned down in their attempts to adopt a child because of their sexual orientation, because they smoke and now because they're too fat? That's what happened to a 278-lb woman in Australia -- wannabe mother Kylie Lannigan was told to lose 115 lbs.

What do you think of this ruling? I can see both sides -- on one hand, obese people have more health problems than those at a normal weight. They're prone to more illnesses, have a much shorter projected lifespan and most likely don't have the energy to keep up with kids. They also most likely don't have a healthy diet or get an acceptable amount of activity, which could lead to unhealthy habits in their adopted child, too.

And yet, if someone was denied the chance to adopt because of something like their ethnic background, it provoke a zealous outrage that they were being discriminated against. So how is this any different?

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Comments (9)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

bethany 7-30-2007 @ 3:14PM

wow, there are certainly a lot of assumptions in this statement. first off, regardless of what you might think, there are fat people who have healthy lifestyles--who exercise regularly, eat their vegetables, and are active in life. second, there are thin people who are not active and eat a lot of junk food. we know nothing about this woman's life except her weight, and that is not enough to know about her medical needs or her lifestyle choices. you make it seem like you think fat people are not able to be effective parents. and while i am sure there are some fat people who are lousy parents, there are also some thin people who are bad parents, and some fat people who are great parents. thanks for contributing to the false stereotypes. pat yourself on the back.

Chris 7-30-2007 @ 10:50AM

I think thats great, if you can't take care of yourself, how can you expect people to believe that you can take care of someone else, especially since that other one depends on you.

Martha 7-30-2007 @ 3:24PM

Hi Bethany,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you -- one's parenting skills have nothing to do with one's weight and it's unfair to judge a would-be parents on their body. You're right -- someone who is overweight is not always unhealthy, but in the majority of cases they are and I think that's the assumption this ruling is based on. I'm sorry if it seems like I am picking on overweight parents -- that's not my intention. I only wanted to lay both sides of the story out to encourage discussion.

Thanks for reading!

Christine 8-05-2007 @ 12:35AM

Martha, you're not an impartial journalist offering an unbiased view, so please don't try to pretend otherwise. You state your OPINION, "someone who is overweight is not always unhealthy, but in the majority of cases they are," as if it were a fact. And that speaks volumes about your intent, your prejudice, and your embrace of the fat-person stereotype.

Ashley 8-05-2007 @ 12:50AM

That is like telling obese parents who are able to have children that can't because they are obese. Adoption is most of the time chosen becuase you can't have children of your own, so adoption should be like having your own child. nobody tells a pregnant woman, or a woman who is trying to be pregnant that she can't because she is obese. adoption should be no different. this is outrageous.

Martha 8-05-2007 @ 12:58AM

Hi Christine,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You're right -- like everyone, I'm not without personal bias, but I think I am being fair, and I do believe this statement is a fact. As someone who is a healthy lifestyles writer, I feel that I've done my research. But I'm open minded and I welcome you to provide sources that show otherwise.

Christine 8-05-2007 @ 10:34PM

Martha, I suspect your "research" has been hand-picked to reaffirm exactly what you already believed. How about doing your research on the other side of the street, to seriously challenge what you think you know?

To that end, here is your suggested reading list:

'Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health' by Glenn Gaesser

'The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Morality and Ideology' by Michael Gard

'Rethinking Thin' by Gina Kolata

'The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health' by Paul Campos

'Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic' by J. Eric Oliver

'Losing It: America's Obsession with Weight and the Industry that Feeds on It' by Laura Fraser

Read any 3 of these books (half the list). After which, I predict, your belief-system that, "someone who is overweight isn't always unhealthy, but in the majority of cases they are" will never be the same again.

DebD 8-23-2007 @ 2:02AM

This happens quite a bit, and do not be surprised if eventually they begin removing children from biological parents upon the grounds that they are obese.
Read about a Missouri adoptive family who are currently fighting to have their son returned (the court took one, but left the other adopted child). There is a link to a form letter there if anyone wishes to send the message to the Missouri court that this is unfair discrimination. Please help baby Max return to his mom & dad!

http://open.adoptionblogs.com/index.php/weblogs/outraged-take-action

Val 8-26-2007 @ 1:32PM

Being obese doesn't mean you're not always eating the 10 hamburgers or fries that people seem to think people who are obese do. There are medical conditions such as PCOS which are not life threatening but make losing weight hard and make retaining weight easy. It's not my fault I'm obese and I cannot tell you how many years I've had doctors tell me I'm obese and never look to see why or what was causing it only that I had to stop eating so much when in reality I don't eat huge amounts of food. What's next? Discriminating other people from adopting because we don't like their religion or beliefs? It's really pathetic!