Toddler obesity?

So today, I was in the grocery store with all three munchkins in tow. This lady had her son, who was around the same age as my son. He was about the same height as my boy, but he was honestly three times the size of my son. Given, my son is bigger than average himself [ he was eleven pounds at birth] , and he's seventeen monthes. This little boy looked like he weighed as much as my three year old. He was so big. Do you consider this child abuse, or at least neglect? I understand that some children have disorders, but what about the ones that don't? And to me, it wasn't the fact that he was big, but the fact that he had no control over it. I doubt he feeds himself large amounts of high fat foods.

I know that this might offend some people, but I don't mean it in a bad way. I'm just wondering how other parents feel about it.

I have two boys myself, and a girl. So I understand that everychild is different. Like I said, my son isn't small. He's just a big boy. But this child was at an extreme. I understand that he might have a disorder, but every obese child that you see can't have a disorder. I guess what I'm asking is how do you feel about the parents who DO contribute to the obesity, not the ones whose children have medical problems.

I think it's abuse.
If it's a medical condition ,it's abuse not to treat it. Even if you don't have insurance, all states provide insurance for kids.
One of my neighbors' kids is extremely obese. The poor kid gets winded from running 10 feet down their driveway. He's not sick, they keep saying he has a big appetite and let him eat whatever he wants. It breaks my heart to see him barely being able to walk.
I was a chubby kid, but my parents stepped in and didn't let me eat junk. I was probably annoyed at the time, but now I don't even remember it, and I'm very grateful they stepped in.

He could have something wrong with him. But if not, then I think the parents are just giving him too much junk food.

An obese 17 month old child probably has some sort of metabolic problem. It's unlikely that even junk food could make a baby that young, that obese.

hopefully nothing wrong with the child
most i think over feed or less exercising
to much sitting in front of the t,v
and not enough veggies and fruits for snacks
it is a chocolate and ice cream world

Well, was this mother overweight herself?
There are some disorders, and medicines that make you gain weight. But in general, parents should be held accountable.
And toddlers are weird when it comes to there metabolism. My first son eats and eats and never gains a pound. My second son barely eats, and is just a bigger toddler. And by bigger I don't mean overweight. My second son also runs around a lot more than his big brother. But they both eat healthy foods and drink plenty of water.

i agree with you i think its obesity if he doesnt have nothing wrong with him

Yes there is that chance that he might have some disorder but if he doesn't then yes I feel it is wrong.
My daughter is 8 and over weight...the charts may even say obese. It is my fault and I am now taking steps to correct the issue. But in my case...maybe to give you a look on the inside of other parents...it could boil down to a money issue as it did for me. I went through a point in my life where I wasn't working or had little money when I was...this leads to depression which leads to laziness...which means some nights McDonald's is just easier/faster. But I think it is our jobs as parents to show them the right way to eat so that when they are able to make decisions they too make the healthy choice! I've stopped being lazy and we all, as a family now eat better and McDonald's is a treat..not a dinner option lol

I do consider this a form of child abuse such as risk of injury to a minor. There are many health hazards to being overweight. The majority of these cases are simply bad eating habits, lack of exercise and not enough healthy foods. The amount of overweight kids with thyroid issues and other issues that cause peopple to be overweight is very low.

It could be that the parents are feeding him too much junk food, but without knowledge of what is going on, there is no room for anyone to judge.

I think that if there is a problem with the parents feeding their child garbage, they're most likely overweight themselves. They need more help themselves than they need people to ridicule them. But not every overweight person eats themselves sick. Therefore, without knowing the story, I don't have any room to talk.

I think it should be considered child neglect. There are SO many obese kids these days, its really sad. They are going to have such a hard time trying to get back to a healthy weight. And I do believe that the parents are to blame. If a child is hungry I would never tell them they couldnt eat, it is what they eat that I would control.