Obese 9-Year-Old Returns, Obese 9-year-old boy sheds 50 lbs---200-pound 9-year-old loses weight, allowed to return home: A 9-year-old boy removed from his mother’s custody after his weight ballooned to more than 200 pounds returned home slimmer with a free gym membership, exercise equipment and even a new scale. His story has compelled donations from community organizations concerned about his well-being.
But it will be up to the boy and his family to make sure he doesn’t regain the weight and end up in court again after a judge in Cleveland released him from protective supervision on Thursday.
The boy, who was placed in foster care last fall and then spent three months living with an uncle, lost about 50 pounds through exercise and healthy eating. He was returned to his mother under protective supervision in March.
Social service workers still plan on checking in with the boy and his mother in Cleveland Heights and have offered them nutritional and health counseling.
“We will remain involved as long as the mother allows us to remain involved,” said Mary Louise Madigan, spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services. “She doesn’t have to allow anything anymore, because essentially the two years has passed, legally we’re at the end of the line.”
The boy was removed from his family over health concerns and placed in foster care in October after Cuyahoga County case workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The county’s Children and Family Services agency said it had worked with the family for more than a year before he was removed.
The boy was considered at risk for developing diabetes or high blood pressure. Government growth charts say most boys his age weigh about 60 pounds. He weighed as much as 218 pounds, but dropped to 166 pounds when he was with his uncle.
He was placed in his uncle’s custody in December on the day he celebrated his ninth birthday.
But it will be up to the boy and his family to make sure he doesn’t regain the weight and end up in court again after a judge in Cleveland released him from protective supervision on Thursday.
The boy, who was placed in foster care last fall and then spent three months living with an uncle, lost about 50 pounds through exercise and healthy eating. He was returned to his mother under protective supervision in March.
Social service workers still plan on checking in with the boy and his mother in Cleveland Heights and have offered them nutritional and health counseling.
“We will remain involved as long as the mother allows us to remain involved,” said Mary Louise Madigan, spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services. “She doesn’t have to allow anything anymore, because essentially the two years has passed, legally we’re at the end of the line.”
The boy was removed from his family over health concerns and placed in foster care in October after Cuyahoga County case workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The county’s Children and Family Services agency said it had worked with the family for more than a year before he was removed.
The boy was considered at risk for developing diabetes or high blood pressure. Government growth charts say most boys his age weigh about 60 pounds. He weighed as much as 218 pounds, but dropped to 166 pounds when he was with his uncle.
He was placed in his uncle’s custody in December on the day he celebrated his ninth birthday.
