A 200-pound elementary school student was taken away from his mother by authorities in Cleveland because the child's weight was considered a result of medical negligence by the mother.

The 8-year-old whose name wasn't released, was placed into foster care last week, the Associated Press reported Monday.

This is the first case of a child being placed in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue, reports AP.

The child is considered "severely obese" and at risk for diabetes and hypertension, according to Cleveland authorities.

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled. Currently nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40 percent of the children are overweight or obese.

Obesity may lead to the following health problems in children: Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and social discrimination.