--- title: Obese Children in Puerto Rico Could Render Parents Liable to a Fine description: Parents of obese children in Puerto Rico will be fined up to $800 if a bill currently being debated in the legislature is passed canonical: https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-11T06:14:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:19:17.011Z article:section: Health og:title: Puerto Rico Could Soon Fine Parents of Obese Kids og:description: Obesity is a significant problem in the territory. og:url: https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9a5023723569035/69877ea235ba6f41f0c07014/98841930.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 98841930 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Puerto Rico Could Soon Fine Parents of Obese Kids twitter:description: Obesity is a significant problem in the territory. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9a5023723569035/69877ea235ba6f41f0c07014/98841930.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Parents of Obese Children in Puerto Rico Could Face Fines of Up to $800 by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Feb 11, 2015 6:14 AM UTC  Obese 12 year old boy measuring himself Obese 12 year old boy measuring himselfPeter Dazeley—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Feb 11, 2015 6:14 AM UTC Parents in Puerto Rico [will be fined](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/10/puerto-rico-considers-plan-fine-parents-obese-children) up to $800 if their children are obese, if a bill currently being debated in the legislature is implemented. Local senator Gilberto Rodríguez stated that the bill was aimed at improving children’s health and enabling parents to make better health choices, the _Guardian_ reported. Under the proposed bill, schoolteachers would refer potential obesity cases to a counselor, who would then work with the parents of the child to create a diet and exercise program monitored by monthly visits. Failure to show improvement within six months to a year could result in fines of between $500 and $800 for the parents. Obesity is a significant problem in the small island territory, with over 28% of youngsters reportedly defined as obese. However, several doctors, including the Puerto Rico chapter president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, have called the initiative unfair. \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/10/puerto-rico-considers-plan-fine-parents-obese-children)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/"},"headline":"Parents of Obese Children in Puerto Rico Could Face Fines of Up to $800","datePublished":"2015-02-11T06:14:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:19:17.011Z","description":"Obesity is a significant problem in the territory","url":"https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Obesity","Fine","Puerto Rico","bill"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9a5023723569035/69877ea235ba6f41f0c07014/98841930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9a5023723569035/69877ea235ba6f41f0c07014/98841930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"98841930","caption":"98841930","creditText":"Peter Dazeley—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3704528/puerto-rico-obese-children-parents-fine/","name":"Parents of Obese Children in Puerto Rico Could Face Fines of Up to $800"}}]}] ```