According to this medical journal "The increased incidence of childhood obesity cannot be blamed on either environment or genetics alone. Changes in the environment (i.e. nutrition and lifestyle) are primarily responsible for the current epidemic in the United States because it is not possible for the gene pool to change in less than a generation."

There is a big difference. If you read the debate description I specifically said "Parents who over-feed their children." Parents are the ones who control what their children eat. They do the grocery shopping and they set the limits on what the child can eat. If they're letting their kids eat as much as they want, then they are partially responsible for their child's obesity.

In the cutting scenario you mentioned, the parent isn't handing them a razor blade and saying "go ahead and cut yourself." In the food scenario the parent is handing them the food and saying "go ahead and eat as much as you want." Parents can't make a child happy, but they can stop over-feeding them. There are many causes of depression that a parent has no control over, such as a chemical imbalance in the brain, or a traumatic event such as a death in the family. The parents can and should get counseling and/or medication for their child if they are suffering from depression that is so severe that they are cutting themselves. If they don't get them help then I think that is abuse too, actually neglect may be a better word.