I weigh 230 pounds and I'm 5' 10.I believe my BMI is similiar to the man in the OP.Thanx for the compliment though.

I think medically speaking it was 20 lbs over ideal body weight. That was based on height and age and gender. It might have changed since then. Clinical obesity was considered 20 lbs over ideal but I didn’t look online so that might be wrong.

gulp !!...you're 5' 10' ?...wow !!...man !...I'd love to keep your WigwaRm...LMAO !!!...j/k....damn !!...5' 10"...can I be excused ?...

that doesn't seem too puffy...I've always kept ahead of the curve when it comes to weight...I workout 5 days a week...and...eat lots of protein...and very few fast digesting carbs...lifting has always worked for me...with some cardio...

I know doctors don’t give very much leeway on what is considered "clinically obese." That is because they want to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease and those kinds of issues that can be associated with being overweight. Not that this will happen to everyone but the susceptibility goes up.

Emotionalism aside, I don't believe anyone will disagree that there has to be some standards in place for situations that could affect the health and well-being of another. This adoption policy is not a written in stone, absolute commandment. Like every other policy throughout every organized civilzation it will be re-evaluated, revisted, and refined... heading down that slippery slope of having lowered standards. Rarely in human endeavors of social engineering I believe standards are ever raised.

The liberal arguement of "Who are you to tell me I can't <insert indulgence of choice>?" always leads to the laws of unintended consequences. There are those will who find this current adoption policy inane, until it crosses a line they personally deem unacceptable. I'm confident that if this story were about a pedophile wanting to adopt the reaction would be different; However, from the pedophiles perspective he/she could argue "Who are you to tell me I can't adopt"? Hey, we all have our shortcomings in life, right? Nobody's perfect. Just because it doesn't make sense to you (generally speaking), doesn't mean the powers that be aren't right in their justifications/rationalizations.

I'm sorry but someone being an overweight parent doesn't compare to being a pedophile.

There does need to be guidelines plain and simple. The question is, "Where should the guidelines be drawn?"

Does a clinically obese person have less of a right to adopt than, say, someone who smokes 2 packs of cigaretts a day?

According to my sociology book, in the USA there is about 400,000 deaths each year that is associated with tobacco products. There are between 100,000 and 250,000 a year associated poor diet and lack of exercise. If we say that clinically obese people have habits too poor to allow them to raise a child than what does that say about people who smoke or chew tobacco?

If we make both illegal it would severely hinder the population of adopting parents. In this case nobody wins. So where is the line drawn?

My feeling is that it should be looked at in terms of what is happening in the moment the person is choosing to adopt. If their health is failing right then and there. You can say well this person is heavy so they are bound to development type 2 diabetes at some point therefore they must not be allowed to become an adoptive parent. That seems wrong. It can’t be preemptive like that.

from what?..

oh nothin'...my mind was wandering a bit...gulp !!...5" 10'...double damn !!...lol

i mean 5 feet ten inches lol

So, let's say we ban people who keep guns in their house from adopting because well...the kid might shoot themselves.

The pedophilia argument is ridiculous.

Of course I am not advocating that anyone who wishes to adopt be allowed to.

This is a married couple who have been together eleven years who work, maintain a home and who want to raise a child. One is technically obese but not so much that he is not a productive member of society.

Like others I agree, if someone was bed bound then certainly that would be a reason to disallow an adoption. That said though if a married couple, one of whom is a paraplegic, wanted to adopt should they be allowed to? Let's say they meet all the other standards. They both work, are married, maintain a home, are financially secure, have no criminal background...what would you say?

Let them adopt a fat kid jk.

re-gulp !!...

I think Gio needs to be burped with all that gulping he does.

I agree. Excessive gulping.

now Lynann...if anyone should know what my " gulps "...imply...it should be you... ...they mean...a lose for words...or...my heart is in my throat...or...something sexual...yet satisying...that just flashed in my mind...damn !!...

Gulp away but slurping is poor form.

not the way I " slurp "... ...damn !!!!!!