I don't understand what parents are thinking. My mother taught me that it is easier to take off 2 or 3 lbs when the scale moves up than to let the problem get bad and face major dieting. My mother has a HS education, and I grew up long before all the knowledge we now have about the relation between weight and heart disease, diabetes, and so many other health problems. If you are sitting on your bum watching TV as you gain weight, you are exposed to information that clearly tells you that eating + lack of exercise = obesity. This is not rocket science.

As for allowing the child to stay with the parent, the child got fat in the home environment, therefore, there should be a limited amount of time for signs of a turn-around, say one month. This child's life is at stake, every bit as much as a child who is being beaten.