How much weight is too much weight to raise children?
One Ottawa father of two claims the family court has pegged that number at 360 pounds — his current weight.
As CTV News reports, the 38-year-old man, who can't be identified under the Child and Family Services Act, is planning a hunger strike after a judge ordered that his children be put up for adoption.
According to the father, the number on his scale played a role in his loss of custody.
"One of the reasons they used is because I was too fat, and couldn't keep up with my children," he told the news network.
At 360 pounds, a doctor at the family court clinic said the man's physical issues interfere with his ability to raise his children.
"(The father) has struggled with obesity for years, which impacts significantly on most aspects of his life including (his) functioning as a parent," the doctor wrote.
The man previously weighed in at 525 pounds and told CBC that, while he was offered taxpayer-funded gastric bypass surgery, he preferred to do it on his own so he would "respect the weight loss" himself.
He said he hasn't seen his children for over a year and accuses the court of leveraging his obesity to keep the 5- and 6-year-old boys in foster care.
"They picked the one thing they could use as a quantitative number. I'm a fantastic father, I love my kids wholeheartedly."
The father said part of his weight problem stemmed from his poor relationship with his ex-wife (and the children's mother), which caused him to overeat, but that he's overcome that impulse.
The children were removed last year from their mother's home after she was hospitalized for a suspected drug overdose and a "mental breakdown."
Though court representatives are prevented from commenting on the case, they released a brief statement saying, "Every case is unique … mental and physical issues are examined as well as any special needs of the children."
There are also a number of other factors that may have contributed to the court's decision.
While he now claims to be clean, the father has copped to past issues with marijuana use and minor run-ins with the law. The court also described him as aggressive, a charge he firmly denies, adding that he's completed anger management classes.
Meanwhile, the story has traveled as far as the Daily Mail as people weigh in on whether waist size should have any impact on a parent's legal right to raise his or her children.
