LONDON Obesity has played a part in at least 20 child-protection cases across Britain in the past year, a study has found. Fifty paediatricians were asked by the BBC if they thought that childhood obesity could be a child-protection issue.

One doctor spoke of a 10-year-old girl who could walk only a few yards with a stick. He believed that her parents were “killing her slowly” with a diet of chips and high-fat food. Some doctors now believe that extreme cases of overfeeding a young child should be seen as a form of abuse or neglect, according to the report.

Tabitha Randell, a consultant from Nottingham, said that in one case she saw a child aged 2½, who weighed more than 4st (25.4 kg). She said: “They said she was big-boned and they were, too. Parents’ perception is a very real problem.”

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