Anamarie Follow-Up

This poor mother is as much a victim of quack television doctors as this poor child. He is condescending and feeding her poppycock that's more harmful than anything this child is eating.

This story is absolutely tragic because on both ends of the spectrum, there doesn't seem to be anything viable that can be done to help her. Firstly, as a mother, I'm sure Mrs. Regino is absolutely terrified of both losing her daughter sooner than necessary and of the battle this poor young girl will be fighting her whole life. It's horrible. I see how Mrs. Regino is trying hard to supply better food for her daughter, but as usual, the products out there are so misleading and tainted with crap--it's no wonder Americans struggle--half the products out there are either mislabeled or misleading. All doctors know how to do is prescribe drugs with nasty side effects or prescribe low calorie/low fat or low carbohydrate diets, depending on which scientific research they ascribe to (and of course, each diet camp claims it has the research to back up their style of eating, too, which leads to even more confusion). My biggest worry for this poor young girl is that she's going to be the youngest gastric bypass recipient on record very soon. That would be awful to not only put her through, but assuming she'll live a good long life, who knows what kind of life she'll have and if she'll (God forbid) need another procedure as she gets older. There's no viable answers here. Adam Wilk

She's 5'2" at age 8?? If you can make someone tall with the "wrong" foods, bring 'em on! I always wanted another few inches! That picture is misleading- there's a reason they showed only her face. Her face is disproportionately heavier than the rest of her. I'm almost certain of it. I'm 5'1" and 195 pounds, and I'm a size 18-20. Yes, I'm fat, but they're trying to make her out as some bloated monstrosity. Poor kid, poor mom. "Tragic" is exactly the right word, Edim.

seriously, why are they stressing the "weight issue" here when it's clear that there's also a "height issue"? do they think her mom is putting her on some mideval stretching device and force feeding her peanut butter sandwiches? this poor girl might have a serious genetic disorder that's being overlooked as mere "obesity". or she may be perfectly healthy, just larger than average. but those are not options in this one size fits all society. your either the "right" size or you need to go on a diet. yeesh!

Yeah, I didn't think she sounded that heavy either. I'm 4'10", 245ish, and a size 22. I found some pictures of her (that show more than just her head) in 2002 and in 2001 In the picture in 2001, I really don't think she looks that heavy at all. I really think they just went straight off of the numbers - 8 and over 200. I feel bad for her. It's not like kids in school are the nicest in the world to fat kids anyway. At least I could always go home and have my mom tell me that I was beautiful, fine for my weight, etc. Sheesh. Midknyt

My favorite part... "Doctors predict she'll soon suffer from diabetes and its complications." They must have talked to those Jean Dixon School of Medicine grads. This kid and her Mom have suffered so much at the hands of their state government and quack docs that it's just heartbreaking and infuriating. They're still blaming the mother for buying the ordinary foods we all bring home for ourselves and our families. They just don't get it that this young girl is supposed to be larger than the average kid, that she was designed that way. They need to blame someone so the mother gets targeted. The frigging state took her kid away from her. I remember this story well and it still makes me want to kick the asses of those responsible for such inhumanity. Bunch of ignorant f_cks.

Wow, a child growing that fast and not one mention of whether she has been tested for acromegaly (Andre the Giant)? No, that can't be it...must be the PB&J sandwiches. I really can't believe this. This poor child has something seriously wrong with her, probably glandular, and all anyone can assume is that she's just stuffing her face. This is why we end up messed up, hating ourselves, hating food, hating life. Even when it's so obvious to any reasonable person that there's something medically wrong with her all they're willing to do to help her is look in her mother's pantry? What is wrong with the medical community today that their first response to ANYTHING is to blame the patient? If I go into the ER with a broken arm tomorrow, are they going to check my home for things I might trip over and then go on to tell me how to arrange my furniture so as not to fall in the future, then leave me with my arm hanging limp?

...and the State still does "precautionary, random checks" on the family, too, I'm sure. God forbid someone else in the house has a hankering for chocolate or something sweet--watch--they'll snatch this poor kid up again. Free country, eh? -Adam

geez.... that dr. has got to be one of the most sanctimonious bastards I've ever heard. Did he ever stop to think that maybe the Mom can't afford to spend ALL F'ING DAY (and all of her paycheck) scouring labels.....I mean she does have a deathly ill child on her hands (from what the doctors say). I think it was what wasn't said in this interview that speaks volumes. Does this child have diabetes? Mobility problems?(I hate saying "mobility". reminds me of that damned scooter store ad on TV) or is her main problem that she is teased by her brainwashed schoolmates? BTW the way, I would love for dr "condescending" to come over to my house and try to tell me that I can't have my once a month Ben and Jerrys fix. What is life if you can't enjoy it every now and then? Or is this poor girl not deserving of a little enjoyment til she weighs 80 pounds like the rest of the girls her age? Makes me want to cry........

Was anything ever mentioned about the size of her parents or any other blood family members? I was 5'4" when I was 8 (my 4th/5th grade teacher recorded everyone's heights), can't remember my weight, but I did look just as fat as her. On the other hand, my dad is 6'5" and close to 400 pounds. If there's any genetic link to it, then she's just a normal little girl who is big. If she's not eating junk food and she's getting plenty of activity, then there should be no concern.

No doubt the food police will be watching them, Adam. "You're not allowed to eat that, missy, you're coming with us." According to the Mom, Anamarie was tested for genetic abnormalities and the test came back negative. She's an active young girl who swims and plays with her friends yet some folks still think Mom is feeding her too much or that there's something "wrong" with her. If this girl had been discovered to have the ability to write piano concertos by age four I wonder if they would have removed her from her home. Well, of course not, but I think there are parallels there. You're a genetic wonderment whose special difference is socially and culturally acceptable then we applaud you but if your difference is deemed offensive then there's something wrong with you.

Two things I wanted to mention about this article- 1) Anyone who has read Paul Campos'book knows that the case of Anamarie Regino is as much a case about racism as it is about 'obesity.' Both he and Kathleen LeBesco in her book "Revolting Bodies-The Struggle to Re-Define Fat Identity" quote a NYTimes article where it is very clear that the state thinks that because Anamarie's family is Mexican-American, they have poor diets, aren't smart enough to make healthy food choices, and that even though the mother was born in the USA, is unable to understand the English language. It is outrageous! I'm currently doing research for a paper which deals with diet issues in the Mexican-American community, and among other studies, it has been shown that both 'average' weight Mexican-Americans and fat Mexican-Americans have a higher rate of diabetes, presumably linked to the 'thrifty gene' hypothesis, a genetic condition linked to the Native American lineage of many Mexican-Americans. So that 'prediction' about Anamarie getting diabetes would be just as accurate if she weighed 80 pounds. 2) the doctor mentioned in the piece is the same doctor who was on the VH1 fat celebrity diet show (I can't for the life of me remember what it was called), and also recently was quoted in another article about how he has a forthcoming diet book which his publishers are hoping will be the next South Beach. So obvioulsy he is such a self-prommoter that I'm sure the health of others comes second to his celebrity career as a diet doctor. If you haven't read LeBesco's book mentioned above, it is a really powerful argument for 'body liberation' (I love that from Ms. Wann's recent BFD interview), and she is probably the leading scholar in the 'fat studies' field. Thanks for the update on this case, Paul, I've been wondering how she was doing.

She's 8 now...So how much longer until they push WLS on the poor girl? Tragic is definately the word for this.

ISAA continues to stay in touch with Anamarie's mother, Adela Martinez. I know that she would never approve of WLS for her daughter. Anamarie was already experimented on enough during her stay with the State of New Mexico. Nevertheless, I'm sure the pressure will be placed, even if it is resisted. This is why we, the community, need to stay apprised of what's going on with Anamarie and remain vigilant and ready to act, if need be. ISAA will try to have another Without Measure follow-up with Anamarie this summer. Best Wishes, Allen Steadham Director ISAA

Thank you for the work you do, Allen. I hope there is a follow-up and I wish Anamarie and her Mom the best.

she is almost as tall as me, she is chunky but not obese. first of all the state has no right to just take a child away without proving that they are being abused, you know i saw this thing on tv about people who keep exotic animals, well this one family had a cougar, and a young child, and one day that cougar attacked and nearly killed that child and the child had to go to the hosptial and needed reconstructive surgury, and what did the state do to protect that child and the other children there? nothing. they did not make them get rid of the cougar, (if it was a dog they would of put it down) and they let them keep the children and the children were still playing and interacting with the cougar. now is this not more of a child endangering situation than letting a child be itself and eat enough food to be happy? what hypocrites, the government really needs to concentrate on their job and stay out of people's personal affairs, as long as they are not torturing child or starving them (that would be ironic) then they have no business interfereing. next thing you know they will start taking child away because they are going to a christian school instead of a public school, don't want parents forcing their children to read the bible or learn about religion. that would be abuse. I guess the government and those in authority feel they own us, I thought the government was by the people for the people? RR

I tend to agree with those who say that if this girl were Caucasian and came from an affluent background, none of this would have happened to her. The patronizing tone of racism and classism attached to this case literally makes my skin crawl. Luckily Anamarie seems to have a lot more resilience than she was ever given credit for by these Upper Class Twits of the Year.

Python reference......nice one ajoyce.

This story is horrifying to me. To know that a child could be removed forcibly from her parents' home is too scary for words. And to think of some doctor pawing through their cabinets and pointing out how the mother has been "fooled" by bread is sickening. What this child needs more than anything is unconditional love and, as far as food and eating goes, to be left alone.

I imagine Anamarie's mother could probably teach most doctors a few things about nutrition, at this point...what with all the "help" she and her family have received, on this subject. I applaud the efforts everyone in Fat Pride community made on behalf of Anamarie and her family. I especially hate to imagine what might have happened to Anamarie and her family if attorney Sondra Solovay (author of "Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination") and UC-Berkeley nutrition professor and pediatric weight expert Joanne Ikeda had not flown to Albuequerque at their own expense and donated untold amounts of expert effort to bringing her home. (Joanne even flew in a second time, when a hearing was rescheduled in an attempt to keep her from attending.) Before their involvement, as far as I could tell, the defense attorney's preferred strategy was to argue that Anamarie had a "condition" (preferably Prader-Willi Syndrome), which would exonerate her parents but leave her at risk of all sorts of unpleasant and draconian treatments/cures for the rest of her life. NAAFA board members Frances White and Leslie DiMaggio and I were also at the courthouse in Albuquerque during the first day of negotiations and the media crush (before we got put under a gag order -- a scintillating sensation! -- and could no longer advocate for the family in the press). I still remember the terror and profound frustration I felt, not just for Anamarie's family, but for the precedent that was being set.