Obese children will be taken into care, parents are warned

The Local Government Association, which represents more than 400 councils in England and Wales, said seriously fat children should be classed as examples of "parental neglect".

The warning came as it was revealed the cost of dealing with "fat Britain" is soaring every year and could even impact on council tax bills.

It has been estimated that by 2012 one million children in England will be obese and by 2025 almost a quarter of boys will be classed as dangerously overweight.

Tower Hamlets is one of three councils which have had to consider taking action against parents of obese children and it has been a factor in at least 20 child protection cases in the past year.

The LGA said that as the obesity problem became worse, it was likely local authorities would have to step in more and more by putting children under review and offering help and advice to parents.

It said Britain was fast becoming the "obesity capital of the world" and more should be done to tackle the problem. The LGA set out eight ways in which the obesity epidemic was having an expensive impact on local public services. These were:

Social workers stepping in to deal with parents who allow their children to become dangerously obese.

Caring for housebound people suffering from conditions and illnesses made worse by obesity, including arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.

Furniture in school classrooms, gyms and canteens having to be made wider for larger children and to meet new standards.

Town halls widening crematoria furnaces to cater for spiralling numbers of larger bodies.

Fire services being called in to winch obese members of the public out of dangerous buildings in emergencies such as fires.

Ambulances being re-equipped with extrawide stretchers and winches for obese people.

Adapting obese residents' houses and helping with the provision of walking aids.

Fears that public transport, including buses and trams, will accommodate fewer passengers as people get bigger.

David Rogers, LGA spokesman on public health, said: "Councils are increasingly having to consider taking action where parents are putting children's health in real danger. As the obesity epidemic grows, these tricky cases will keep cropping up.

"Councils would step in to deal with an undernourished and neglected child so should a case with a morbidly obese child be different?

"If parents consistently place their children at risk through bad diet and lack of exercise is it right that a council should step in to keep the child's health under review?

"It is vital that councils, primary care trusts and the NHS work with parents to ensure children don't end up dangerously overweight.

"Obesity is increasingly costing the council taxpayer dear. There needs to be a national debate about the extent to which it is acceptable for local authorities to take action in cases where the welfare of children is in real jeopardy."

Earlier this month, the Government came under fire for banning the word "obese" from letters being sent to parents warning them of the dangers to their child.

The cost to the NHS of treating seriously overweight people now tops £1billion a year.

Last night, public health expert Professor David Hunter declared that obesity posed as big a risk to Britain as terrorism.