A 13-year-old boy who needed a heart transplant due to his obesity complications died in palliative care after doctors rejected his operation because he was deemed too fat for the procedure.
Adrian Balog and his family sought treatment from two hospitals, but they could not do anything to reverse his condition. Reports cited that the teen boy struggled with obesity since he was a toddler.
Balog developed a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy at such a young age that prevented the organ from working well. His heart could not pump blood properly; thus, he eventually needed the transplant.
However, the doctors at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in the U.K. assessed that his weight made him ineligible for the life-saving procedure, raising his risk for any measures necessary to prepare his body for surgery.
Later on, Balog also developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, a disorder in the blood that could lead to clotting. This complication further prevented him from getting the transplant.
Obesity is Child Abuse
Balog was moved to the Freeman Hospital as his doctors explored more options. However, the doctors at the facility also came up with the same assessment as the first hospital.
The 13-year-old was returned to the children's hospital and placed under palliative care. Fifteen days later, Balog passed away.
Seven years following his death, the inquest to Balog's case detailed that he died of multi-organ failure due to his obesity, which led to his other conditions. According to The Times, Zak Golombeck, the coroner on the case, wrote to the U.K.'s Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to warn parents, healthcare workers, and health agencies that obesity in children should be treated seriously as child abuse, akin to starvation.
Golombeck said that Balog was not taught and guided how to eat in a healthy way or live a healthy lifestyle. He was also not provided with support for his weight management issues. He said that obesity is a clear sign of neglect, as with malnourished or underweight kids.
Aside from his parents or the adults around him, Golombeck also named the boy's school and his doctors in his report. He also gave copies of his findings to city councils and hospital foundations and expected a reply from the Education Secretary. The coroner said that there should be safeguards relating to cases similar to Balog.
The Pandemic of Childhood Obesity
It comes as the STOP Project, which consists of 24 health and food organizations across Europe, has projected that childhood obesity will increase with 250 million kids by 2030. The report also cited that this is a public health pandemic that needs to be talked about and resolved as more and more kids are becoming part of the statistics.
Dozens of studies have linked childhood obesity to factors like developing the child's gut health in their early years, pollution in the environment, and diets or eating habits. The STOP Project said that more focus should be routed to address the need for nutritious food options in kids, more parks with trees, and better education for parents even in pre-birth.
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