Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

Weight-loss camps for children have made significant improvements in recent years, and are providing campers with excellent long-term results. With an emphasis on good health habits (including proper nutrition and exercise), many weight loss camps for kids are now better described as "fitness camps."

• According to Tony Sparder, who has been operating weight-loss camps for over 30 years, The average participant in an effective weight loss camp for children and teens will lose between two and six pounds per week.
• In years gone by, Sparder said, campers spent considerable time and energy performing boring fitness trials such as push-ups and sit-ups, and most weight-loss camps would limit calories to 1200 to 1300 calories a day.
• In contrast, today’s fitness camps offer activities that are more fun, such as hiking and swimming, and the children’s calorie allowances are usually set at 1800 to 2000 calories a day.
• The emphasis in the new fitness camps is on building long-term habits, portion control, and learning how to handle situations such as parties where a child might be offered pizza and birthday cake.

At Wellspring Camps, which operates a network of the nation's premier weight loss camps for children and teens, changing behavior is the key to weight loss, said program administrator Ryan Craig. For example, Wellspring campers learn how to cook and how to order in restaurants, Craig said. They also work with psychologists to learn how to handle stress and emotional eating.

Labels: weight loss camps