Maryanne Godbolo’s frustration over her daughter’s physical impairment led to a 12-hour standoff when police officers came to take her daughter away. She also lashed out on what Godbolo considers to be inappropriate state interference on her child’s medical care.

When the 12-hour standoff ended, Godbolo was in handcuffs and her child was placed in a children’s psychiatric hospital.

Godbolo is in a battle with the Department of Human Services of Michigan over her right as a mother to determine whether or not her daughter should continue receiving an anti-psychotic drug called Risperdal. The agency insists that it is one of the government’s responsibilities to protect children’s welfare even if it is against their parents.

Godbolo refuses to trust doctors as she blames them for some of her child’s medical problems. She says that some of her daughter’s illnesses could be due to physician negligence and possible complications from childhood immunizations. She, however, did not name her daughter’s doctors and did not provide the press a copy of her daughter’s medical records.

Godbolo insists that her daughter responds better to treatments that do not include the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. On the other hand, the state firmly stands by its belief that without the ideal medical attention and treatment, Ariana (Godbolo’s daughter) is at risk.

Ariana stayed in a psychiatric facility for a month following her mother’s confrontation with the police and is now currently staying with her aunt, Godbolo’s sister.

Scientists have discovered a gene that is linked to cholesterol and diabetes acts like a master switch that may control fats in the body. Scientists say that this can play a huge role in getting obesity help and cure for obesity-related diseases.

British researchers said in a study published in “Nature Genetics” that because fat plays an extremely significant role in our chances of getting metabolic diseases, the regulating gene may be targeted for the treatment of illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases.

Tim Spector, lead author of the study, said that their study is the first major research that shows how very minimal changes in a single master regulator gene can affect metabolic functions of other genes. They analyzed at least 20,000 genes in fat samples from 800 British female twins who volunteered for the study. After which they compared and confirmed their findings with 600 more fat samples from another group from Iceland.

As of the moment, one out of 10 adults in the world is obese. That is more than a billion people or 10% of the world’s total population. The numbers have increased, almost doubled, since the 1980s and it has shifted from rich nations only to even poor countries because of poor eating habits.

In the United States alone, $147 billion are spent to treat obesity-related diseases each year. That accounts for 10% of the country’s total medical spending. Cases of type-2 diabetes are also increasing in number as obesity rates grow.