Children placed in group homes sponsored by the state are gaining weight at an alarming rate.

After I found out that I student of mine works at a group home, I starting a conversation with her about childhood obesity. I explained that kept in touch with my high school friends and some of them had their children removed by the state and placed in group homes. I described the observations I made about the weight gain among the children after they entered the group home. Each child gained over 30 pounds. In one case, the thinnest boy in one family came home so fat he looked like he needed a bra.

This students said she noticed rapid weight gain in both group homes she worked at. She told me that she works in group homes with teens between ages 16 and 18. She said that one of the girls gained twenty pounds in four weeks. One girl entered the group home at 147 pounds and now weighs 220. This same girl now has to sleep with her head propped up at night because she is so fat that she can't breath while laying on her back. The weight problem is so bad that half of the girls in the group home can't fit into their clothes any longer. The weight gain has caused half of the girls in the group home to miss out on free prom dressed offered by a local business because only half of the girls can fit into the sizes available.

This observation needs to be recognized by the state that is sponsoring these group homes. Extreme obesity is a serious health problem. Extreme obesity is also under the control of the adults who take care of these children. The adults who run the group home need to monitor and control feeding. No child who is already suffering from parental neglect or abuse needs to be put into an equally neglectful home sponsored by the state.