|
Newport City Council, based in the Civic Centre (pictured) in Newport, south Wales, made the decision to take the girl into care purely because if her obesity A girl of five has been taken into care because she weighed more than 10 stone, it was revealed yesterday. The girl is one of the heaviest of her age ever recorded in the UK and at her peak weight of 10st 10lbs, was more than three times the typical weight for a girl of five. Yesterday experts criticised the failure to identify the youngster’s problem earlier and said the authorities should do more to monitor obesity in pre-school years. Details of the case were revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request, but the local authority refused to reveal more information for fear of identifying the child. It is not known whether any adults had been arrested over her care. The child, from Newport, South Wales, was taken into care in August last year because she weighed 10st 5lbs. Her weight increased to 10st 10lbs two months later, but dropped to below 8st this September. Earlier this year it was revealed that more than 900 children, including 101 under-fives, had been admitted to hospital because of obesity in the past three years. Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation, said the Newport case highlighted the need for proper weight monitoring before children started primary school. | 
