The Importance of a Strong Support Network to an Obese Teen

April 27, 2010 By Joe Leave a Comment

There is very little that is more important to a teenager than feeling a sense of belonging.  Therefore, the idea of going to a ‘fat camp‘ is usually terrifying for teens.  However, weight loss camps for kids can provide an environment for them where they are surrounded by people like them who are working toward similar goals.  Such camps and programs often surprise teens by providing a totally accepting atmosphere.

Teens already suffer from an onslaught of bodily and hormonal changes, peer pressures, and swiftly approaching responsibilities.  Adding something like being obese to this list of stress-factors makes it particularly difficult for a teen to set and achieve goals.  Counselors at summer camps are specially trained to help teens feel good about themselves and give them the extra boost they need to succeed at losing weight.

The sad truth is that most obese teens simply don’t get the support they need to successfully lose weight.  Teens are probably less accepting than any other age group of obesity and other differences.  Kids can be cruel at this age, and obese teens typically get the exact opposite of what they need when it comes to warmth and compassion.  And peers are not the only ones to blame; many times family members, often with the best of intentions, are so critical that the teen simply doesn’t have the self-esteem to care about taking action and losing weight.  Shame leads to eating and inactivity, which lead to more shame.

The pressure in our society to be skinny is so strong that even people of normal weight often report having painful memories of not belonging during adolescence.  Kids are especially vulnerable between the ages of 13 and 18, and it is common for people who are obese between these ages to report emotional pain lasting into their 30s and 40s.

Weight loss camps give girls the opportunity to talk about fashion and their looks with people who look similar, eliminating the embarrassment they might feel talking about such subjects with skinnier girls.  These camps put teens in an environment where they feel they are not inferior to the people around them or being constantly judged by people.

Boys enjoy the same benefits.  They can talk about any subject they want in front of people they know are similar to them, or even confront members of the opposite sex without feeling like they are creating an awkward situation.  At this age, interactions with the opposite sex are very important to the development of self-esteem and a feeling of beginning to enter the adult world.  The social benefits of weight loss camps are just as important as the physical benefits.

Ultimately, everyone needs to feel like they belong somewhere.  Weight loss camps provide an environment where your teen will not feel out of place.  Teens need to feel accepted and like they are supported in whatever goal they are trying to achieve, whether losing weight, making friends, or simply being more social.

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Summer is the Perfect Time to Help Your Kids Feel Better About Themselves

April 20, 2010 By Joe Leave a Comment

Every year brings new changes to your child’s life, whether new teachers, new classmates, or a new school.  Many parents do not realize it, but these changes can be very stressful on children, especially overweight or obese children.

While most kids do not worry about whether or not they are obese, all kids worry about what other kids think of them.  Therefore, obesity affects each child differently; some kids are outgoing enough that they are not teased about their weight, and are therefore not bothered by it, but many kids do suffer as a result of their condition.

However, it can be difficult for a parent to convince even a frequently-teased obese child to consider diet and exercise.  Kids often do not see the importance of restraint or how learning to restrain themselves could result in their leading happier lives.  For a child, habits are not a matter of choice, but a matter of the way things are and will always be.

The best time to introduce changes to your child’s habits and routines is when other changes are already occurring – between school years or when your child is getting ready to transition to a new school.  All the changes that will already be going on in your child’s life will make the new habit seem less intruding.

Perhaps as a parent you are worried about your obese child or teen suffering from the cruelty of his or her classmates?  Most parents can tell or at least get a feeling of when their child is not happy or is suffering from torments at school.  Such torments inevitably manifest themselves through changes in your child’s mood or disposition.  You know your child better than anyone else does; it is important to be perceptive.

High school in particular brings a lot of very difficult changes.  A high school student’s environment is completely different from that of any other environment he or she has ever encountered.  This is particularly terrifying for a person who is insecure about his or her weight and/or appearance.

Most teens use their summer break from school to improve their looks or otherwise increase their chances of being accepted when school starts back up again.  A weight loss camp is a great way to help your teen feel ready to start school confidently in the fall.

Not only do weight loss camps help kids lose weight while having fun, but they also give kids an opportunity to learn valuable information about nutrition that will serve them in planning healthy diets for the rest of their lives.

Additionally, the exercise habits adopted at teen weight loss camps are fun and will provide a foundation for a life full of confidence and good health that will help your teen see his or her life in a more positive way.

The summer is the perfect time for your child to make a decision either to start the next year the way he or she is, or to start changing for the better. Make the right decision; persuade your child to take this step toward a happier and more productive school year and a better, healthier life.

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Summer Weight Loss Camps Provide the Perfect Atmosphere of Acceptance

April 15, 2010 By Joe Leave a Comment

Though it is true that obesity rates are high, it is becoming less so.  While this is a great development, it means for obese people (especially kids), that there are fewer people in whom they can confide and to whom they feel like an equal.  A “fat camp” can give a child struggling with his or her weight the benefit of being able to choose friends based on other qualities.

Everybody knows how important friendships are to a child.  Childhood is a very sensitive period during which the person you will be for the rest of your life is formed.  If your child is obese, it is likely he or she feels limited and trapped by the number of other kids at school struggling with weight loss.

Kids understand at a very early age their likelihood of being accepted among certain social groups.  There are two likely possibilities if your kid is overweight: he or she is quiet and withdrawn, or he or she acts out as an extreme extrovert, always goofing off or engaging in self-degradation.

Obese children often feel like they have to bring more to the table in order to be accepted and have issues with their self-esteem.  And, sadly, most children and teenagers are not accepting of obesity.

Most overweight kids, however, do not even bother trying to put forward the extra effort in order to be accepted by everybody; they will simply make friends with whoever is willing to accept them, and in some cases this is only other obese kids.  Weight loss camps for teens and kids provide a great atmosphere where kids do not have to worry about picking their friends with their weight in mind.

Most kids who spend their summers in our camps report a new-found sense of social freedom from judgment and criticism that they are able to carry over into their lives at school the next year.  The power of genuine friendship is truly amazing.

Most overweight kids are lucky to have one other kid in their class they can relate to.  If your kid is so lucky, he or she is doing better than most.  However, even if your kid has a close friend at school, you would be amazed to see the effects of adding another, or even two or three more close friends.  Not only do weight loss camps allow overweight kids to feel what it is like to have multiple genuine friends, but they also allow them to feel what it is like not to have to be friends with everyone who will accept them, and that will do wonders for their self esteem.

This aspect of weight loss camps is particularly helpful for girls.  The social pressure put on women by society is tremendous, and feeling relief from this pressure is tremendously helpful in losing weight.

Weight loss camps provide kids with an environment in which more importance is placed on their personality, as opposed to their appearance, than may ever have been before in their lives.  The absence of stress this creates will put your child in the perfect state of mind for losing weight and adopting healthier living habits.

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The Difficulty of Providing Your Overweight Kid with a Positive Reinforcement

April 7, 2010 By Joe Leave a Comment

Being overweight is physically stressful on a child; extra pounds make it more difficult to move around efficiently, and obese kids will often run out of breath and energy long before their peers.  This rightly concerns many parents, who try to intervene by providing incentives for their child to lose weight, exercise, or eat healthier.

However, most parents are not psychologists, and these incentives rarely work.  They are usually too short-sighted, causing the child to focus more on the tangential reward than on the long-term goals they should be adopting.  Naturally, as soon as the incentive is removed or the parent is not around, the child reverts back to whatever habits he or she chooses.

Most children are too young to fully understand all the ins and outs of nutrition and metabolism.  So, of course, they do not understand that it is not just important that their parents see them eating right, but that they actually do it consistently.

Family members almost always have the best of intentions when it comes to helping an obese child lose weight.  Unfortunately, they simply do not have the expertise necessary to effectively and positively reinforce the appropriate behaviors.  And parental misbehavior comes in all types; some will comment negatively on their child’s weight, creating an un-supportive atmosphere, while others will say nothing at all.  Both behaviors are wrong, and it is hard to know exactly where in the middle you should fall as a parent.

At a weight loss camp your child will get nothing but positive reinforcement.  This means that your child will be rewarded for the progress he or she makes, but will not be punished or degraded when progress is not made.  Rewards will not consist of food, but rather personal interaction and recognition.

Most obese kids have nothing but negative experience with humor.  They are used to being the punch line of every joke and constantly being laughed at.  Weight loss camps for teens offer an environment in which your kid can learn to use laughter in a positive way.  Specially trained counselors will help your child deal with criticism in more positive ways that do not hinder or get in the way of his or her ultimate goals.

The reason positive reinforcement is so successful is because it makes kids feel like they are being treated like people; it fosters a positive attitude that spreads from the counselors to the kids, and then from the kids to each other.

This environment of positive energy and encouragement gets even the most reluctant teens excited about being part of a group.  Weight loss camps for teens provide a feeling of acceptance for kids that many of them may never have experienced before.  If you are having trouble instilling healthy habits in your child concerning diet and exercise, a weight loss camp is probably the right decision.

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