When two preschoolers were found recently in a filthy home in a small town in Georgia, the conditions in which they were living were deemed appalling, but the issue that really shocked American readers was the girls’ extreme obesity: The 5-year-old weighed 158 pounds, the 4-year-old, 89. And in South Carolina, a mother was arrested and charged with criminal neglect and her son put into foster care because, at 14, the boy tipped the scales at an astonishing 555 pounds. These incidents have raised the question: Is it abuse to allow your child (or children) to become dangerously overweight? The answer: A guarded “maybe.” Experts seem to agree that allowing a child to become obese can be a sign of neglect, but the majority of such cases calls for a nutrition and fitness intervention, not a parent’s arrest. Add another entry to the list of weighty parenting topics.