Too fat to adopt-A new species of faceplants

[dragoonson]

LONDON - A BRITISH man has been told he and his wife cannot adopt children because he is so fat that the authorities fear he will die, he said on Monday.

 

 

 

Mr Damien Hall, who stands six feet, one inch (1.85 metres) tall, weighs 24 and a half stone (155 kilogrammes). He therefore has a body mass index (BMI) of more than 42 and is thus considered morbidly obese.

 

 

 

The call centre worker, 37, and his nanny wife Charlotte, 31, cannot have children of their own and approached Leeds City Council in northern England, about adopting.

 

 

 

But their local authority told them that Mr Hall must get his BMI down below 40 before they can be considered as potential parents due to concerns over his weight.

 

 

 

'The bottom line is I'm too fat,' he told BBC radio. 'It's hard to lose weight under pressure. I'm not a couch potato and I don't sit eating takeaways every night.

 

 

 

'I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us.

 

 

 

'We don't drink or smoke and we could give a child a happy and safe home.' The letter the couple received from Leeds City Council said they were unable to process their adoption application 'due to the concerns that the medical advisers have expressed regarding Mr Hall's weight.

 

 

 

'The Adoption Panel are unlikely to approve applicants with a BMI over 40 because of the long term health risks.

 

 

 

'It would therefore be to your advantage to begin the assessment with an up to date medical where your BMI is clearly recorded as being under 40 and to demonstrate that you are able to maintain this weight loss over the period of the assessment.'

 

 

 

Mrs Charlotte Hall said the letter was 'gutting' and 'to be turned down flatly just on that, it's just harsh.

 

 

 

'We're here ready to take a child on.

 

 

 

'They seem to be saying it's better for them to be in care and being shoved from pillar to post just in case Damien dies.'

 

 

 

In a statement, Leeds City Council explained: 'The council's adoption service has a legal responsibility to ensure that children are placed with adopters who are able to provide the best possible lifelong care.

 

 

 

'Part of this responsibility is advice for applicants on a range of suitability criteria, including any health and lifestyle issues which may impact on an applicant's long term ability to adopt.' -- AFP

 

 

 

Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/World/Story/STIStory_325197.html

 

 

 

Now as far as I'm concerned,I poke fun at obese people,but in a friendly manner,if you know what I mean.I've had friends 150 and 100,but to be denied adoption because of his weight is just stupid to me.

 

 

 

Its not like it would influence the kid badly.I mean,I'm fine with low-EQ denial,mentally askew denial and generally bad influence denial,but just have some access meat is not a bad influence.This coming from a guy who could strum a guitar with his ribs,so you know I mean it.

[angryjoe]

It's fair enough tbh.

[dragoonson]

Maybe I'm unversed in the way of politics,maybe I've not read much news,but are thin,underweight people turned down applications?I mean seriously fast-mentabolism people,not anorexic bulimiacs.

 

 

 

As my consultant says,no.Underweights are as likely to get osteoporosis as overweights are to get heart failure.I personally would find it traumatic if my ward broke a hip everytime he stood up.

[angryjoe]

Thin underweight people would probably have more stamina to deal with a child.

[BlackDawn]

That sucks, fat people are human too. Despite the fact they look like they ate a human.

[Kiriyama]

Honestly, they have a point, what if he dies and the child has to go back into care?

[dragoonson]

So a normal person will not die.Now I see how Randall Flagg lived all those years.

[Kiriyama]

Everyone dies eventually. He's just at greater risk of dieing sooner.

[Ginger_Warrior]

I remember seeing this on the news. I sympathise, but the adopters have to be healthy to ensure stability for the child.

 

 

 

Having a BMI of over 40 clearly is not healthy; it's morbidly obese.

 

 

 

EDIT: If you want something to facepalm at, try this.

[assassin_696]

I don't have a great deal of sympathy with people who let themselves get to that kind of state.

[Will H]

The authorities made a good call on this one. You can't have a parent who is so obese he can't look after his children properly, let alone himself.

[RichieMcD]

There's quite a noticeable difference between "excess" meat and being clinically obese. As far as I'm concerned I'll agree with the City council, it's in the child's best interest that he/she is paired with the person who will statistically be reliable to last until they're 18. Obese people face so many life-threatening diseases that it simply isn't viable to place an adopted child within their care.

 

 

 

Anyway, unless he has some form of physical disability it, it's completely his fault for being obese. No one to blame other than himself for not being allowed to adopt. In a typical lazy attitude he hits out at the council instead of agreeing to lose weight for his own health benefit but also for the child's own good.

[Star.]

I don't have a great deal of sympathy with people who let themselves get to that kind of state.

 

I agree with this fully.

 

 

 

It is for the child's own good, those people won't be able to take the kid out to the park, play football, do kiddy things blah blah blah keep up with their hyperactiveness/stamina.

 

 

 

Also, the couple make a lot of assumptions. What happens when you assume?

 

 

 

'I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us.'

 

 

 

It's like a black kid who gets picked on by a teacher shouting out 'You're just saying that because I'm black!!"

[Jimmyw3000]

If they want the child so badly, LOSE SOME [bleep]ING WEIGHT

[mmmcannibalism]

If they want the child so badly, LOSE SOME [bleep] WEIGHT

 

 

 

agreed

 

 

 

Im not great at metric(curse american system of measure) but isnt 150 kilos over 300 pounds? I have no problem with slightly overweight people adopting children and Id encourage it if they cant have children without aid but want them. If someone is signifigantly overweight to the point it concerned the adoption officials I have to agree, if someone has a body weight that is risking their life in a very immenant fashion they should not be trying to have kids through any means.

 

 

 

Thats not to say it only applies to obese people, I wouldnt approve of someone about to die of Aids or other diseases adopting children because it doesnt promote stability.

[Ginger_Warrior]

'I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us.'

 

 

 

It's like a black kid who gets picked on by a teacher shouting out 'You're just saying that because I'm black!!"

 

Not really, no. :?

[mmmcannibalism]

'I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us.'

 

It's like a black kid who gets picked on by a teacher shouting out 'You're just saying that because I'm black!!"

 

 

 

The difference here is that being morbidly obese has a very negative effect on some aspects of your life where as being black/asian/indian/vulcan :P by itself does not. Some races have slight dispositions toward some genetic diseases but uncontrollable factors are vastly different from things such as morbid obesity.

[Ginger_Warrior]

I was thinking more along the lines of:

 

 

 

eat less or exercise more =/= turn white.

 

 

 

Unlike obesity, which is far easier to deal with than being black.

[mmmcannibalism]

I was thinking more along the lines of:

 

 

 

eat less or exercise more =/= turn white.

 

 

 

Unlike obesity, which is far easier to deal with than being black.

 

 

 

That last sentence made me lol.

 

 

 

Id say its fair to call the point reasonable either way, even if there are some genetic factors you have quite a bit of control over your weight where as your race is pretty static unless your micheal jackson but im not sure hes still human

[Riku3220]

Honestly, they have a point, what if he dies and the child has to go back into care?

 

 

 

It's like saying someone who goes to the beach a lot can't adopt a child because they have an increased risk of dying of skin cancer. You can't tell the life expectancy of someone just because they're fat or they sunbathe.

 

 

 

Oh and the title should be facepalm, not faceplant.

[purfishx]

Lose weight? I mean he has a 42 BMI and the requirement is less than 40, if he's so adamant about getting this child, I'm sure he could/would/should lose a few.

 

 

 

And aren't there black markets for these sort of stuffs?

[Zierro]

I think a lot of people are skipping over this:

 

 

 

'I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us.

 

 

 

'We don't drink or smoke and we could give a child a happy and safe home.' The letter the couple received from Leeds City Council said they were unable to process their adoption application 'due to the concerns that the medical advisers have expressed regarding Mr Hall's weight.

 

 

 

I can understand that it's in the child's best interest to have a healthy parent but if you want to play that game it can go on and on. What about people with cancer or diseases? Does their physical state overrule what they are capable on an emotional level with the child?

 

 

 

I'd much rather see a kid with a kind loving lard than a skinny crackhead.

[mmmcannibalism]

Honestly, they have a point, what if he dies and the child has to go back into care?

 

 

 

It's like saying someone who goes to the beach a lot can't adopt a child because they have an increased risk of dying of skin cancer. You can't tell the life expectancy of someone just because they're fat or they sunbathe.

 

 

 

Oh and the title should be facepalm, not faceplant.

 

 

 

Almost anything you do could have some negative effect on your life expectancy, but obesity is likely to kill you in a drawn out process where you are debilitated or a quick heart attack. Also, cancer is a risk but being extremely overweight causes mobility and other caregiving problems all on its own.

[dragoonson]

Now Iunno how accurate this is,in the article he claims to be doing rather healthy stuff...Some people just have a slower mentabolism.Like eat a steak,get fat.Eat a salad,get fat.

 

 

 

But yeah all angry over this subject has washed away with a good night's sleep.I won't turn this in to a whole he's fat,you're not,you don't understand kind of thing.

 

 

 

Oh and faceplant is a new level of facepalm.You know when you're so pissed you just want to ram someone's head into a wall?Faceplant.

[mmmcannibalism]

Now Iunno how accurate this is,in the article he claims to be doing rather healthy stuff...Some people just have a slower mentabolism.Like eat a steak,get fat.Eat a salad,get fat.

 

 

 

having a slow metabolism does not equal fat though, some people are luckier then others but that doesnt give anyone an excuse to be morbidly obese.