High cholesterol, high blood pressure, the development of diabetes, bone and joint problems and sleep apnea are no longer a concern reserved for adults, but the effects immediate effects of childhood obesity on health. Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled and tripled among adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Since the 1980s, the number of obese children in the United States, aged 6 to 11, has increased from 7% to 18% in 2010 (CDC, 2013). While the topic of childhood obesity continues to alarm health professionals due to escalating rates, the etiology of this health problem is what makes this issue difficult to resolve. The problem of childhood obesity is multifactorial and has been used as an accusation to justify childhood obesity. Many of these factors are environmental and some are due to lack of parental oversight, sparking a controversial question among millions of Americans about whether childhood obesity counts as medical neglect. When it comes to childhood obesity, overweight is considered to be overweight in children aged 2 years. -19 is defined as a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile. Obese children are at or above the 95th percentile. (Children's Health, 2012). The American Academy of Pediatrics justifies the need to remove a child from the home if the following elements are present: (1) a high probability that serious harm will occur; (2) state intervention will be an effective treatment; and (3) the lack of alternative options to resolve the problem will result in serious harm or even death to the child (Varness, Allen, Carrel, & Fost, 2009). There are no specific guidelines to follow when removing a child from their home due to obesity. This is what makes this decision difficult to make... middle of document .......org/English/health-issues/conditions/obesity/pages/Childhood-Obesity-Common-Misconceptions.aspxMollen Foundation. (2011). Portion Size and Serving Size: What's the Difference? Retrieved from http://mollenfoundation.org/2011/06/serving-size-vs-portion-size-what's-the-difference/Epstein, L.H. (2002). Effects of manipulating sedentary behavior on physical activity and food intake. The Journal of Pediatrics, 140, 334. Score of food advertising to children and adolescents. (2013). Fast Food Marketing Leaderboards. Retrieved from http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/FastFoodFACTS_MarketingRankings.pdfRobert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2013). Fast food companies still target children by marketing unhealthy products. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2013/11/fast-food-companies-still-target-kids-with-marketing-for-unhealt.html