Summer Camp

Young people

        Losing weight can be a really big challenge for our youth. They need a lot of help, support and motivation. And sometimes even a new environment! That's why a weight loss camp can be the ideal solution for kids, teens and young people who want to lose weight and keep it off.

        If health camps are correctly managed, they can be a really great weight loss aid for youngsters. One of the main hurdles is the negativity associated with being overweight in the first place. Once campers get over their fear of going to a fit camp that doesn't automatically label them 'fat', they make stunning strides.

        The path to self-improvement is fraught with peril. Give in to your cravings, and all your hard work seems like wasted effort. Weight loss camps work because they provide youngsters with the opportunity to lose weight under friendly observation without forfeiting their sense of personal responsibility.

        If a young person doesn't feel like she is in control, her weight loss will probably be temporary at best. What's the use of a fat camp program that puts her through a boot camp style regimen? Sure, it may look successful on paper and she may lose weight while she's there, but tough training like this hardly translates into everyday life.

        Weight loss camps work well when they break free of the fat camp mold. Kids' boot camps, being built around military regimens, are hardly tailored to the individual.

        So, fat camps are out, and boot camps are out. What about the alternatives? Fun immersion weight loss camps are the answer.

        In a study of 130 girls and 64 boys aged 10-15 who attended a two month weight loss camp, 89 percent showed reduced BMI 9 months after the camp was finished. (Gately, Cooke, Butterly, Mackreth, Carroll 2000)

        Research has shown that it's a lot easier for kids and teens to eat right when they aren't surrounded by peers who routinely gorge themselves on whatever junk food is close at hand. Weight loss camps make it easy to socialize (in real life, NOT online) with other young folks just like them.

        According to Hass (2006), "The most effective way to get kids to eat healthfully is to set a good example."

        So, what about kids who really love junk food? Well, it's not as if they were born that way, although habits do develop early on and become harder to change later. The good news is-kids and teens can be trained to enjoy healthy food just as much, but this can't be done without a smart, nutritionally balanced plan. Everyone has to eat to survive. Effective weight loss camps will encourage your child to upgrade his or her mindset, starting with a lifestyle reset that works wonders.

Adults

        Adult weight loss camps evolved in the 1980's from the traditional children's summer camp experience. Predictably, as the incidence of obesity grew across all age ranges in the 70's and 80's, weight loss camps for kids, teens and adults became popular and gained terrain.

        Typically, the weight loss camp setting featured a low calorie diet and a fitness or exercise program. In the beginning, many so-called fat farm and weight loss boot camp programs also failed to address fundamental behavioral and emotional issues, including body image and body acceptance struggles.

        While many children, teens and adults enrolled in these programs lose weight and return home fitter, little data exists in the literature about whether these outcomes are permanent. Many experts suggest that the results are short-lived because true behavioral change cannot occur in the absence of teaching how to eat (opposed to how to restrict/diet) and without learning how to deal with the emotions and stresses that trigger overeating. Finally, experts also questioned - and still do -- whether younger age campers are emotionally ready to create long-term changes, regardless of the program curriculum.

        Weight loss is more efficient and can be helpful in creating healthy lifestyle behaviors if the weight loss program is followed in an adult weight loss camp. These conditions should be accomplished if you want to follow an adult weight loss camp:

- Is the overall philosophy geared towards weight loss at any cost, or is it focused on creating healthy lifestyles that promote healthy weights?

- How do the various components of the program support that philosophy to achieve the desired results?

- Does the staff include qualified counselors, health professionals such as nutritionists, registered dietitians, psychologists and exercise physiologists?

- Is the program tailored to meet individual needs; how many participants does the program allow per session?

- Is counseling available to help make changes in eating and lifestyle choices?

- Does the program include stress management and a behavioral component dealing with emotional aspects of eating?

- What aftercare support is provided? How long does this last?

        The result obtained in the adult weight loss camps shows us that the group work is more efficient than working alone. Some causes of these result are the strictly program applied by the dieters, the food that contains the right calorie intake for weight loss, and the fact that everyone makes new friends and the atmosphere is friendly. There are also non-diet philosophy of an adult weight loss camp small-sized program -- where the emphasis is on helping each adult successfully attain a healthy weight, feel good about itself and have fun in the process -- remains the same as it was conceived in the beginning of these organizations, only modified to meet the changing needs and realities of today's busy adult.