Parent Resources

Camper Resources

Our Blog

Contact Us


Dealing With Childhood Obesity and The Influence of School Schedules

January 13, 2010 by

One of the major problems with helping children lose weight is what goes on when the kids are out of the house. For most children this is largely time that they spend at school. No matter what you do at home as a parent to help control their diet or get them more active, the unfortunate truth is that parents have little control over what takes place at school.

Let’s first look at lunch time. The food that most cafeterias offer is generally poor quality and not nutritious. It’s often made with refined carbohydrates and a lot of fat. Popular kid’s meals at school include: pizza, instant mashed potatoes, french fries, battered fish, tacos, and chicken nuggets. Kids undoubtedly love these kinds of meals, but they do nothing for helping to contribute to a healthy diet. As a parent, you can do things like send your child to school with a healthy lunch that you prepare, but ultimately they will be the one that decides whether or not to eat the lunch you prepare.

Second, consider physical education classes and recess. Schools have had their budgets cut and this has meant that school children no longer have physical education every day. The educational demands on our kids have also increased and this has resulted in recess times that have shrunk. Most schools have physical education lessons once or twice a week and each session typically only lasts 20 minutes – a far cry from the hour long sessions I remember from grade school and the daily P.E. classes I took in middle school.

To be fair, schools are not entirely to blame. Budget cuts have literally forced their hand in some of these cases. However, a combination of sitting at a desk for the majority of the day with little to no exercise and very, very few healthy eating choices in the cafeteria is not a good one.

While most parents cannot do much to control what goes on in the day-to-day activities of school, steps can be taken at home and within the family to make some changes. A weight loss camp for kids is a great way to help your child learn about the dangers associated with obesity, learn how to enjoy eating healthily, and give them the self confidence to get more involved in active events like organized sports or even informal activities with friends. Make sure that your kids eat a healthy breakfast and dinner every day, and encourage them to do something active every day after school instead of watching TV or playing video games. A family walk after dinner every night is another excellent idea.

Dealing with an obese child as a parent is not an easy task, especially when outside factors like time spent at school are considered. However, it is possible to make progress. For more information about the strategies used at Camp Pocono Trails or to learn more about our programs, check out our weight loss camps site.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Tips for Helping Kids and Teens Lose Weight at Home

January 7, 2010 by

If you have an overweight child or teen and are considering something like a weight loss camp for the summer, you may be looking for some ideas for ways to get started today. After all, why wait until the summer? Thankfully, there are a number of things that parents can do at home to help their kids begin to lose weight. Ultimately, it comes down to diet and exercise. Here are a few tips:

Get your kids excited about eating better by involving them in meal planning, shopping, and cooking. This gives your kids less of a feeling that a diet is being “forced” on them and gets them more invested in the efforts.

Try increasing their exercise levels with incentives or by finding fun activities that they will not consider “exercise.” Most kids (even kids that are not overweight) cringe when they hear the word “exercise.” If your kid would rather spend hours watching TV, make them “earn” some TV time by exercising. Also keep in mind that “exercise” doesn’t have to be things like jumping rope, doing sit-ups, and so on – anything that gets kids active is exercise. Taking a bike ride, jumping on a trampoline, throwing a football around, even vacuuming the house!

The key is to get your kids invested in the weight loss effort and creating a supportive environment. This is what makes our weight loss camps so successful, but is also the kinds of things that can be done at home. Fun exercise. Healthy dieting. It really is that simple.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Happy Holidays from Camp Pocono Trails!

December 21, 2009 by

As we wrap up another successful year at our weight loss camp, we want to take the time to wish all of our past and future campers and families a Happy Holiday season and a Happy New Year.

Many people begin a new year by making some sort of resolution to improve their quality of life. A common resolution is to lose some weight, change a diet, etc. To help those of you that make similar resolutions, we’ve compiled a list of some entries from our blog this year that might be beneficial:

Moving in to a new year, you may finally decide that attending a weight loss camp for kids is the solution that your family needs. If so, we look forward to hearing from you!

We are excited for another successful year full of helping kids and teens create a New Image for themselves and starting on the path to healthier living in 2010!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Weight Loss Camps Today

October 27, 2009 by

For years weight loss camps for kids were filled will teen age boys and girls who were willing to eat sparingly and exercise dutifully for a few weeks in exchange for quick weight loss. These programs were often advertised as “diet camps” and nothing more.

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the past twenty years. Children haven’t changed but their eating habits and activity levels have undergone drastic changes. Fast food has become a way of life for many time stressed families and sugar laden drinks are no longer a treat but have become part of the daily diet. Video games and computers have replaced outdoor activities and children are delivered to and from school and activities by car even for distances of a few blocks.

The results of this lifestyle are obvious. Chubby toddlers turn into pudgy kids then become overweight teens and obese young adults. The new weight loss camps are designed to break this cycle. They reject the title “fat camps” and describe their programs as “lifestyle weight loss” or “fitness camps“.

The best weight loss camp for any child is the one where he will become engaged in the process and learn to change his eating habits and his exercise routine in a way that will benefit him long after camp is over. The goal of fitness camp is to teach kids the relationships between eating and exercise. Weight loss is about calories taken in versus calories expended and understanding that relationship is crucial to establishing a healthier lifestyle.

One big advantage of time spent in a fitness focused “fat camp” for kids is the ability to exercise with others who have the same limitations. It’s difficult for an overweight child to keep up with normal weight friends in a typical gym class and often he doesn’t try. In a group of kids with the same weight problems he lives with, the obese child is more likely to expend effort and try to do as much as he can. The fear of being ridiculed or of appearing clumsy is gone and the only competition is with others who are struggling just as he is.

Physical activities are no longer a source of fear and shame. They become real competitions when all participants are well matched. Rude comments and pitying looks are replaced with encouragement and the excitement of other kids cheering you on.

Nothing makes a child feel more self confident than knowing he tried hard and did his best – and it was good enough. A week, a month, or a summer at a weight loss camp will not undo years of overeating and sedentary behavior but it can start an obese child or teen on the path to a healthier future.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Making Weight Loss a Family Affair – Part II

October 22, 2009 by

Parents who want to help their child lose weight at home before or after the child attends a weight loss camp must often undo problems they (the parent) caused. If they allowed the child to dictate what he ate without restriction it will take time to establish nutritional rules. It may also require the full cooperation of every member of the family. A child who is not allowed to have sweets will feel only frustration if he knows a locked cabinet is filled with sweet snacks that other family members are eating. He feels deprived, unloved and mistreated and will not be able to focus on solving his own weight problem.

The first step to establishing a good diet is to toss out all foods that do not contribute to the nutritional plan for your child. Most of that junk food isn’t healthy for anyone in the family and if necessary can be eaten away from the home. If your overweight child is demanding on a grocery trip, don’t take him with you. Older children might benefit from a grocery buying trip where you explain and compare ingredients and labels (and calories, sugar and sodium).

Establish family meals where healthy foods are served. No one in the family will suffer because food is not fried or sauced. Instead, the entire family will receive positive health benefits from eating a balanced low fat diet. Changing the eating habits of the entire family will provide the overweight child with the greatest chance of success.

Instead of watching television or playing video games with your obese child, go for a walk with him. If you drive your child to school, drop him off at the curb rather than at the front door of the school. Take your child places where walking is required such as a zoo or aquarium. Organize family weekend activities of swimming or camping. Children are easily motivated to participate in a project to “improve our family’s health” but may drag their feet reluctantly when the subject is “you need to lose weight”.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Childhood Obesity – Making Weight Loss a Family Affair Part I

October 12, 2009 by

Note: This is the first of two articles that discuss the shocking reality of childhood obesity and what parents can do at home to help their children lose weight

Our eating habits are formed in childhood. For this reason, the diet of the entire family is of concern when a child is overweight. The most common scenario is an overweight child with one or more overweight siblings and with at least one parent with weight issues. Trying to solve the child’s weight problem may be an impossible task unless the entire family is willing to participate and change their eating habits and activity levels. Weight loss camps for kids can help your child start his new eating plan.

One problem mentioned as a contributing factor to childhood obesity is that children are often allowed to choose their own foods. Two generations ago, dinner was whatever the parent put on the table. Children might eat more of the foods they liked and smaller portions of less favorite foods but they didn’t choose what was served.

The results of 18,100+ questionnaires sent to families with children showed that 4 of 5 families reported allowing the children to make their own food decisions. The same study also found strong links between children who have healthy eating habits and regular family mealtimes. The more often the family ate meals together as a group, the less likely it was that children in the family were obese.

Other studies have shown children with low self esteem are more likely to become obese but this theory has been challenged by medical professionals who wonder if the obesity was caused by lack of self esteem – or vice versa. Teen weight loss camps take a proactive approach to the link between overeating and self esteem.

What can’t be argued is the explosion of children obesity we’ve seen in the past twenty years. This pattern is not only a burden for those children whose activities are limited by the extra pounds they carry but will be a great burden on health care as these children become obese adult. We’ve already noted increasing numbers of adults suffering from types of diabetes brought on by excess weight.

The worldwide estimation of overweight and obese children is 10%. From 1980 to 2000 the number of obese children in the US tripled. The number has stabilized but 30% of the children in the U.S. Are classified as overweight or obese. This number has brought discussions of weight loss for children to the forefront…

Part II of this article series will be completed next week and will focus on what can be done to help curb childhood obesity.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Reality TV Show Films at Camp Pocono Trails

September 15, 2009 by

Our weight loss camp hosted the popular shows on MTV – “Fat Camp” and “Return to Fat Camp” in 2006 and 2007. We’ve also been featured on Good Morning America. This year, we were happy to be featured on the Style Network’s show “Ruby.” Michael Sadowski of the Pocono Record had a featured story about Ruby’s visit to our camp:

Workers at Camp Pocono Trails know the drill when it comes to having television cameras on their grounds.

The camp has been featured in MTV documentaries and on “Good Morning America” in recent years.

So when weight-loss hopeful and reality show star Ruby Gettinger brought her show to the Reeders camp in June, it was business as usual for camp director and founder Tony Sparber.

“We’re not strangers to having cameras at the camp,” he said. “We’re very media-friendly, we’re very proud of what we do. We’ve had times where we’ve had cameras on us from eight in the morning to 10 at night, so we’re used to it.”

And for someone bringing a message like Ruby — whose self-titled reality show just wrapped up its second season on the Style Network — Sparber was happy to bring the cameras back for another taping.

You can read the entire article here.

If you’d like more information about our successful weight loss camps, please feel free to contact us.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Picking the Right Weight Loss Camp for Your Kids

August 24, 2009 by

Years ago, the term “fat camp” was used to describe the summer camps that kids and teens went to to lose weight. Those camps were typically intense experiences that did more harm than good for a number of the children. The weight loss was temporary at best, and the psychological strain was never worth the price that was paid. Today, fitness camps for kids are different. They focus on a holistic approach to weight loss that teach children long term healthy living strategies instead of focusing on losing weight quickly.

Parents that are considering sending their child to a summer weight loss camp often struggle with the final decision. Admittedly, sending your child away to get help with their weight loss takes power away from the parents and is a way of them saying “I give up. I need help.” This is never easy to do, but is often the best choice to make. Certainly, parents are able to learn the things that they need to and eventually can help their children get on the right track, but that takes a lot of time that many parents simply don’t have. There is nothing wrong with leaving it to professionals who have years of experience working with kids just like yours.

So, as you search around for weight loss camps for teens and kids, here are a few things that you might want to keep in mind to help you determine what camp is the best for your family.

First, check to make sure the camp uses a healthy weight loss approach. Although this seems obvious, you need to make sure you’re not sending your child to a camp that subscribes to the “old school” approach towards weight loss. This should include plenty of healthy choices at meals such that your kid won’t go hungry at camp. Look for samples of the daily menus and check for plenty of veggies, fruits, lean proteins, and whole grains.

Second, look at the kinds of exercise activities that they offer. In short, these should be FUN. Camps that use things like weight rooms, tradmills, crunches, and so on are not going to be enjoyable, and therefore will not be successful for your child. The more fun your kid has at camp, the more exercise they will get, and the more successful they will be. One of the main goals for a weight loss camp should be to break the “exercise is boring” mentality and show kids that there are plenty of ways to exercise and have fun.

Also, as you evaluate weight loss camps, make sure that the camp you choose sets realistic goals for their campers. It is important to remember that children lose weight differently than adults and need to set goals with that in mind. A number of kids “grow in” to their healthy weights more than they shed pounds like adults do. Thus, be wary of any camp that promises to send back a “skinny kid” as that may not be the most healthy thing for your child.

Finally, as I said above, look for camps that use a holistic approach to weight loss. This should extend beyond diet and exercise. Many overweight children suffer from emotional issues like depression. If these emotional scars are not addresses, the chance of long term success will decline dramatically. Therefore, seek out camps that employ qualified counselors that give children the support they need to work through these difficult issues as they learn to be a whole healthy individual.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Why our Weight Loss Camps are Successful

July 30, 2009 by

Getting a child that is used to a life full of inactivity and a poor diet to switch to a life full of activity and healthy eating is certainly not an easy task. There will always be foods available that are loaded with trans and saturated fats and the pull of television, computers, and video games will always be felt. However, as more and more children become obese in this country, the response to fight the problem also grows. Many families have found success with our weight loss camps to jump start the process of change.

The path to obesity is, unfortunately, a cycle that is a snowball effect, of sorts. Children that live unhealthy lives gain weight, which leads to poor self-esteem as they are commonly judged and teased by society, especially peers at school. This poor self-worth often leads to feelings of helplessness and an inability to make changes, which inevitably leads to them continuing to live an unhealthy life. This leads to more teasing, and on and on…

As such, we focus on improving self-esteem here at our camps as much as we do on weight loss. Our name, New Image Camps, is based on that philosophy – we want kids to look different to others, but more importantly, we want them to change the way they view themselves. To accomplish this, we use a wide variety of fun group activities that teach kids new skills (which they can fell good about) and allow them to meet new friends and counselors who provide a solid network of support. With improved self confidence, our campers are more likely to engage in behavioral changes with respect to their exercise and eating habits.

This leads to another snowball effect, although this one is positive. As kids begin to feel better about themselves from the support they receive from counselors and peers at our camps, they become more willing to make changes to their lifestyle, such as learning that healthy foods are pretty tasty in their own right! So, they begin to eat better, which increases their feelings of self-worth and leads to more involvement in group activities, which also increases their self worth, and so on…

This is why we insist that we are not a fat camp in the typical sense of the term. Traditional fat camps deal with losing weight, first and foremost. They are often joyless places that have kids leaving that feel worse about themselves than they did when they came. This is, of course, not a very successful strategy. Instead, we focus on the whole individual. Our focus is more on fun, education, and self-esteem, which leads to weight loss, among other things. This difference in philosophy from traditional fat camps is why we have so many campers that choose to come back year after year – they know camp will be fun and enjoyable, but also a place where they can improve themselves.

So, while childhood obesity will likely be a problem that our society struggles with for a long time, rest assured that if you are ready to truly solve this problem for yourself or your child by addressing some of the underlying issues, our camps are a great place to do so.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Weight Loss Strategies Used at Weight Loss Camp

July 27, 2009 by

Perhaps you have seen us on MTV’s “Fat Camp” show and came here to learn more about how we make our weight loss camps fun and healthy. What do we do to get the results we see every year? Here are six things that we do with each child that attends our camps to help them get on the path to successful weight loss.

First, we encourage our campers to keep eating. This may sound counter intuitive, but it really works. By encouraging kids to eat periodically throughout the day, we are able to divide daily caloric intakes up in to smaller pieces and also speed up metabolism rates by giving the body less food to process at one time. Of course, we also make sure that the foods that kids eat here are healthy ones (see below).

Second, we encourage kids to drink a lot of fluids. Adequate hydration is important for everyone, but for people that are trying to lose weigh, having six or more glasses of water every day is even more important. Water helps to suppress your appetite, improves digestion, cleans the body of toxins, and provides energy for physical activities. At our camps, water is always readily available.

Third, children that are trying to lose weight need support from others, which we provide at our camp in numerous forms. Counselors at weight loss camps provide the emotional and spiritual support that many children need when they’re trying to lose weight. When kids have people cheering them on, they are often more successful in their weight loss efforts as it helps them with self-esteem issues, which are common in overweight kids and teens. Although we provide plenty of support for kids and teens at our camps, it is important to note that they need the same kind of support at home after their time here is over.

Next, you have to make losing weight fun! Anyone that has been on strict diet with the goal to lose weight knows how hard that can be. It shouldn’t be surprising that those methods are rarely successful with children. At our weight loss camps, we focus on fun activities for kids to help them be more active, burn more calories, and lose weight. The goal is to teach kids that “exercise” can be fun, not hard and frustrating. We prefer activites like swimming, basketball, hiking, and so on as the foundation for our exercise instead of situps, running, and so on.

Also, it is important that kids and teens learn about healthy diets. At our camps, we take the time to instruct kids about proper nutrition and show them ways to make healthier decisions in their every day eating.

Finally, proper sleep is important to weight loss. Kids need more sleep than adults, especially kids trying to lose weight. Kids that don’t sleep enough also have problems with hormone imbalances, like leptin and ghrelin, which help to control appetite. When they don’t sleep enough, leptin levels remain low and lead to a feeling of not being “full” after eating – which leads to more eating when it isn’t necessary. Further, kids that sleep more have more energy the next day for activities that burn calories, helping them lose more weight.

If you’re struggling with an overweight child and need some help getting the process started, contact us today to sign up for one of our summer weight loss camps.

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Next Page»