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. For example, Wellspring campers learn how to cook and how to order in restaurants. They also work with psychologists to learn how to handle stress and emotional eating.

Labels: weight loss camps

The irreverent animated series South Park mocked fat camps in the episode "Fat Camp" - but it also captured some of the past failures of "fat camp" - a place where food was restricted and exercise forced, but no behavioral change was brought about in the overweight campers.

Those of you who watch SouthPark know that Cartman is often mocked for his weight - the cartoon boy is obese. In the "Fat Camp" episode he is forced to go to the camp, where he makes a deal with a kid at a drug rehab next door to smuggle in food, which he sells to the other kids at the fat camp. Disappointed parents bring home their still-fat kids and decide fat camp doesn't work.

The reality is these old-style fat camps don't work.

New weight loss camps have been developed in recent years that forego the overly restrictive diet and excessive exercise of fat camps in favor of a healthy, well-balanced diet that allows kids to lose weight without being miserably hungry and offer activities that are fun enough to encourage the child to embrace an active lifestyle.

Parents should look carefully if they are considering one of these camps this summer. Review the clinical program, qualifications of the directors and staff, and the healthiness of the diet (is it approved by the American Diabetic Association or other reputable organizations).

We know why fat camps don't work - so take care when choosing a weight loss camp for your child's summer adventure in health.

Labels: fat camp, weight loss camps