The issue of whether parents whose children are obese should be charged with neglect has fueled debate and generated controversi

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问题     The issue of whether parents whose children are obese should be charged with neglect has fueled debate and generated controversial court cases, but, according to an article published this week in British Medical Journal, so far there is little research analyzing negligence and obesity—and particularly whether obese children who are put into foster care better than they did with their parents—and a paucity (缺乏) of resources for health professionals attempting to determine what’s best for their young patients. Given the absence of in-depth analysis, the team of authors—including experts in child and adolescent health and psychiatry—suggest a way forward that attempts to distinguish when childhood obesity is a symptom of parental neglect or abuse.
    To begin with, the authors stress that obesity on its own should not necessarily ring child abuse alarms, nor should failure to help obese children shed excess weight. As the authors parse it, "a family with an obese child should not raise child protection concerns if obesity is the only cause for concern" but "clinicians should be mindful of the possible role of abuse or neglect in contributing to obesity." They point to research showing that children with strong family support can still struggle to lose weight, as well as mixed success of weight-loss programs run by professionals.
    Still, that’s not to say obesity isn’t often a symptom of problems at home. As the authors point out, there has been research suggesting a correlation between childhood abuse and obesity in adulthood, and a study of American school children found that, after controlling for socioeconomic status, those who were physically abused were more likely to be obese. Additionally, a growing body of research suggests that early decisions made by parents—even before conceiving as well as during pregnancy and infancy—can have a significant impact on their baby’s risk for obesity throughout childhood and later in life.
    So how can care providers determine when negligence or abuse is a cause of childhood obesity? The authors suggest that similar standards to other types of disease-related neglect be applied. That is, "parental failure to provide their children with adequate treatment for a chronic illness such as asthma (哮喘), diabetes, is a well accepted reason for a child protection registration for neglect" and as such, failure to adhere to obesity treatment—missing appointments, refusing to support children with treatment programs or actively undermining those programs—should convey neglect, especially among children who are at high risk for obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Yet, the authors stress that having adequate evidence of this negligence is key. "Clear objective evidence of this behavior over a sustained period is required, and the treatment offered must have been adequate and evidence based."
What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

选项 A、To remind people that parental negligence may lead to children obesity.
B、To discuss the factors contributing to children obesity.
C、To urge people to take care of obese children.
D、To suggest ways of treating obese children.

答案A

解析 主旨大意题。文章一开始就引出议论的话题,孩子患有肥胖症,父母是否应该因为疏忽而遭到起诉?通过分析发现,肥胖本身并不一定必然表明儿童遭受虐待或者被疏忽,只是有一定的联系,最后介绍如何确定父母的忽略或虐待会导致儿童肥胖。由此可见,作者写作本文的目的是为了提醒读者孩子肥胖与父母的疏忽有一定的关系。所以A)为答案。
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