Would you want to go to an academy during the summer time to lose weight or do you want to have fun? Our resort like property is right on our lake and is exclusive to our campers. We are one of the only camps that offer this benefit.
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Camp Pocono Trails Essay Contest – Win a Scholarship!
NORWOOD, N.J., Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Children ages 10-17 who are eager to live a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and build self-esteem while having fun are invited to participate in the Imagine Me! I’m Up for the Challenge: 5th Annual New Image Camp Essay Contest. Kids have the opportunity to win a 3-week campership at one of the only the ACA-accredited weight loss camps in the country: Camp Pocono Trails in Reeders, PA. The retail prize value of a campership that is 3 weeks and 3 days is $4,290. Entries are now being accepted for the summer of 2011.
Interested applicants will be required to submit an original essay of no more than 500 words, typed and double-spaced with the title, “Imagine Me! I’m Up for the Challenge at New Image Camp.” The contest will be judged by a panel of experts based on elements including compelling nature of the story, clarity, and creativity. Essay entries must be accompanied by a photograph. The application and rules can be found at http://www.newimagecamp.com/contest.html. Deadline for entry is June 1, 2011.
Kids weight loss camps such as Camp Pocono Trails continue to become more and more popular as the number of obese children in the United States continues to rise. And there’s no wondering why as recent studies show that nearly one third of the American children population are overweight, and have high risk of becoming obese.
Obesity or excessive weight poses plenty of problems for children. Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly evident in children, and mostly occurs in obese or overweight kids. If your child is overweight or obese, then he faces this danger, as well as other possible health risks as well. With that, more and more parents are slowly sending their children to weight loss summer camps in the hopes of helping their kids become healthier children.
Obese children have a higher risk of developing heart disease over children who are not overweight. A child’s life expectancy may also be lowered by as much as three to five years if he continues to remains overweight. Excess weight of the body causes strain on almost all the organs, and this can be detrimental to your child since his organs and organ systems are still developing. Overweight children may also suffer from liver disease, owing to the extra fat stored in the liver. He may also have an increased risk of brain pressure which causes headaches or vision problems. Gallstones, acid reflux and other complications of the digestive tract are also more likely to occur.
As a parent, you may find this very alarming. But, this is true and it happens to plenty of children all around the world. But, there are also other dangers caused by obesity that most of us tend to overlook. Over and on top of all these health issues, obesity can also take a toll on the self esteem and confidence of your child.
The world is a cruel place for obese and overweight children when they hear the media obsess on skinny and thin, students and other children in school bully, tease and ridicule them. Even in a school with plenty of overweight children, studies show that it is the obese children that usually get picked on the most. Any child who has to go through these very difficult and demeaning experiences is more likely to suffer from depression; he is also inclined to eat more, causing a very difficult cycle to break out from. External factors can play a role on how your child perceives his or her appearance and self worth, and this can take a toll on his confidence and self esteem, causing his social skills to suffer. It’s a difficult and sad thought, but some obese children are even bullied into suicide.
It’s not enough to speak to your child and tell them that you love and care for him despite his weight. While this is a very crucial step in letting him know that you are there for him, your child (with your help) will need to take more action.
One good way to help your child combat obesity is by involving him in kids weight loss camps such as Camp Pocono Trails. Just like typical summer camps or kids camps, weight loss summer camps allow your child to be in a healthy and accepting environment where he can meet friends, get active learn valuable lessons about eating and living healthy. Weight loss camps like these can be a stepping stone to helping him reverse obesity, giving him the chance to live life as an individual who is healthier and more confident as well.
New Image Camps awarded 10 kids scholarships to Camp Pocono Trails, valued at $4100, through the fourth annual essay contest!
“I am thrilled to offer these scholarships to kids in need who really want to get their lives back on track,” says Tony Sparber. “Our kids lose an average of 4 pounds per week on our program, which is portion controlled.”
News!
Over 700 children ages 7-19 will attend Camp Pocono Trails in Reeders, PA for an average of 4-5 weeks. They are expected to lose an average of 5 pounds per week. Summer 2011 includes the most diverse group of campers yet, coming from 30 states and 6 countries including, Venezuela, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, Israel, England, and France.
Tony Sparber, director and founder of the camp, taps into his 30 years’ experience running successful weight loss camps. Reaching the 100,000 pound mark illustrates that Sparber’s campers are not only taught how to shed pounds, but how to reformulate their lives to be healthier, happier, and more confident.
We’ve received some overwhelmingly positive ratings on Epinions.com over the past couple years and have a 4 out of 5 start rating. One Camp Pocono Trails parent talks about how his daughter experienced the single most life changing event of her life.
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.
Obese teens can turn their lives around at teen weight loss camps. For teens, the camp focus is on changing their lifestyle. This is a critical time for kids. The acceptance of their peers is important to them. They want to be attractive to the opposite sex.
It is hard to be an overweight teenager. For teens who are overweight, the years that should be carefree and fun are often torture. Too often, obese teens are exposed to cruel comments from family members as well as school mates. They are teased and stared at and the high school experience for them is not one they want to remember. Overweight teens don’t accept their excess pounds as normal as they may have done as a child. Boys with weight problems are the last picked for sports teams and get used to sitting the bench. They are often shy around girls and become the best friend rather than the boy friend.
The approach at weight loss camps for teens is on changing not only the teen’s weight but also their entire lifestyle and outlook. Teens who have avoided school dances due to embarrassment about their size find themselves dancing without being self conscious. At camp they change their diet and learn how to make food choices when they leave camp. Information about nutrition and calories is combined with facts about fast food and common snacks and the low-nutrition, high-calorie problems they present for the teens.
Counselors at weight loss camps for teens understand the teenage mind – which is something parents find hard to do. Teens are encouraged to contribute ideas and to make choices. Returning home from weight loss camp, many teens have a different outlook on life. They understand what led to their weight problems in the first place and have acquired tools to help them continue to lose weight and gain confidence long after “fat camp” is over.
Parents of obese children well know the pain of watching their child struggle to do things like participate in sports. Parents who were overweight through their own childhood know the taunts and teasing their children endure. Weight loss camps for kids may not have been an option when the parent was a child.
Times have changed and the problem of overweight kids is being recognized for the health hazards it presents. Weight loss camps can help overweight children learn to make better food choices and also set them on a path of increased physical activity that will benefit them for a lifetime.
In our society, we’ve migrated to a different way of eating. This is often due to busy schedules in homes where two parents work full time. It is easy to pick up pizza or hamburgers or fried chicken on the way home from work. Soft drinks are staples in most refrigerators and snack foods such as chips and cookies are regular fare rather than the treats they were for previous generations.
Overweight children suffer more health problems due to their weight and to the lack of activity that weight causes. And, children aren’t long term planners. They live in the present and cannot be counted on to eat less because they are told to. Parents often have tried to limit the food intake and know how difficult it can be to deny a child his favorite snack foods. The only way to even attempt to put a child on a diet is for the entire family to change regular eating habits. Even then, determined kids will snack every chance they get.
When you register your child at a weight loss camps for kids, you are not giving a punishment. You are giving your child a chance to start on a path to a happier life where he is not ridiculed or bullied.
Some people still call these resident facilities fat camps but they aren’t – they offer children a place to be with others who have similar circumstances. This allows the child to let his personality shine as he is accepted as he is without judgment. Your child will eat the same healthy diet provided to all the campers. The activities are designed to be fun and increase exercise without the children realizing it. After two weeks or a month or more at a resident weight loss camp, the child you bring home will be happier, healthier and more comfortable in his own skin. What greater gift could you offer a child?
Not too many years ago, fast food restaurants were an occasional family treat. Children in many families now ingest Mcfries and chicken nuggets several times a week. Bags of potato chips were served with barbecue meals of hot dogs and burgers or dumped into bowls for parties. Many of today’s pantries routinely offer open bags of chips or single serving size bags of potato chips for frequent snacks.
It’s easy to place all the blame on childhood obesity on fast food and high calorie snacks but not only the calories damage the health of children. The foods lack nutritional value. Children are eating preservatives and chemical flavors, ingesting far more salt and sugar than nutritionists recommend and are filling their stomachs with food that does not efficiently fuel their body.
Obese children are seldom found eating a fresh vegetable or piece of fruit. Too often, the options are choosing between cupcakes and cookies. This new way of eating was enabled by advances in packaged foods. There is no effort involved in providing high calorie snacks today as all of the foods that used to be treats made at home are now packaged in a way that encourages frequent consumption.
For generations, children in farming communities ate meals that would be considered unhealthy today. Fried meats, creamed vegetables, plenty of carbohydrates and dessert once or twice a week was common fare in farm families. Yet few children were overweight and even fewer suffered from childhood obesity.
Weight gain was not a problem because the caloric intake was quickly burned off by outdoor work and activities. That is the missing element in society today. Even young children are glued to TV watching a constant stream of rented movies. Elementary school children play video games for hours and teens are updating MySpace and Facebook pages as they Twitter every few minutes.
Weight loss camps remove the sedentary activities children have so easily adapted to.
Outdoor activities are not only encouraged but are organized to include all the camp participants and provide physical activity. Swimming, kayaking or canoeing, racing up hills, games of tag, dancing – these are activities that make up a typical day for many attending.
Exercise produces energy. It raises the metabolism, burns fat, and tones muscles. The significant increase in exercise at weight loss camps for kids makes them feel better and also carries significant health benefits.
Children have food choices at camp but all choices are nutritionally sound. Food is not used as a reward for behavior nor used to make a child feel better. Positive reinforcement is never food based and exercise is not viewed as punishment – instead, “exercise” at camp is generally not what kids think of when you say the word “exercise” – it’s fun, exciting, and the kind of thing that kids want to keep doing.
Camp Pocono Trails | P.O. Box 417, Norwood, NJ 07648 | 1-800-365-0556
