Should parents be punished for putting their kids on strict diets?

Watching what a child eats to ensure they’re healthy is important for parents and grandparents – but what happens when they take it too far? Should parents be punished for effectively “starving” their child on strict diets?

A couple from Sydney pleaded not guilty on Wednesday after they were accused of neglecting their 20-month-old daughter by putting her on a strict diet. According to Nine News, they were arrested after the youngster was admitted to Sydney Children’s Hospital suffering a seizure on March 10.

Once there, the child was reportedly found to be suffering from malnourishment and rickets – a disease that softens bones, and is usually caused by a prolonged lack of vitamin D. The couple was charged with failing to provide for a child causing danger or serious injury and reckless grievous bodily harm, and the case has now been adjourned to May 30.

Meanwhile, a Sydney naturopath was recently jailed for seven months for her role in “starving” an eight-month-old child in 2015, by offering strict diet advice to his parents to help treat his eczema.

According to ABC, Marilyn Pauline Bodnar, 62, was sentenced to a maximum of 14 months’ jail but will be eligible for parole on November 4. She had originally pleaded guilty to an accessory charge of causing danger of death to a child, after advising the boy’s mother to cut back his food intake to a strict diet of raw vegetables, fruit, and seeds.

Read more: Survey reveals shocking results of Australian diets

The young boy was reportedly “just days” from death, police said, when he was taken to Westmead Children’s Hospital on May 28, 2015. There, it was found he was suffering from severe malnourishment and developmental issues.

Both recent cases have added fuel to an ongoing debate on strict diets for children, as many argue it’s dangerous to limit their food to such extremes.

According to a new study, published by Pediatrics, pushing teenagers to diet rather than adopt healthy eating habits can have long-term consequences that span generations, and affect the way they then parent their own children.

The results stated that: “Experiencing parent encouragement to diet as an adolescent was significantly associated with a higher risk of overweight or obesity, dieting, binge eating, engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviours, and lower body satisfaction 15 years later as a parent.”

Lead study author Jerica M. Berge explained: “We already know from prior research that when parents talk about dieting or weight with their teenagers, this has an immediate influence on their [children’s] weight and weight-related behaviours, such as engaging in more unhealthy weight control behaviours.”

However, others argue there’s a fine line – and question whether it’s right to tell someone how to parent their own child.

What do you think? Should parents face punishments for putting their kids on strict diets, that could affect their health?