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Are Weight Loss Camps The Right Solution for Your Child?

April 14, 2009 by

Are you frustrated with your overweight or obese child? We all worry about our children and with the awareness of the growing childhood obesity epidemic, we may feel a bit panicked to help our children. Unfortunately, we sometimes create bigger problems for our children and ourselves when we turn a problem into a major issue.

Denying our children sweets may lead them to sneak or hoard snacks and desserts. Even though we don’t mean to, we may end up making them feel very badly about themselves leading them to turn to their favorite comfort food for consolation.

As well, it’s easy to make common dieting mistakes such as denying food in between meals or skipping meals. This not only lowers your child’s metabolism, but it also encourages the opportunity to overeat at the next meal. There’s a lot to know about weight loss for adults and children, but there are even more weight loss challenges when it comes to children.

A weight loss camp would allow your child an environment that fosters their weight loss needs with the training and expertise that we lack. Children are usually more responsive to other adults. They behave better for other parents when spending time at a friend’s house. They tend to listen to teachers and wouldn’t dream of throwing a fit for an instructor the way they would for you. You can stop the food battles in your home by allowing trained professionals to help. The support that a weight loss camp can offer you and your child is truly priceless.

As well, your child will be surrounded by other kids who have similar issues. Whether you are heavy or thin, your child may feel like you don’t really understand their problems. If you are thin, your child may be embarrassed about their weight issues and feel as though you couldn’t possibly understand what they are going through. If you are heavy, your child might feel as though you can relate, but can you help?

These are all issues that can be very frustrating, but they can’t be ignored. It’s imperative that we help our children now so they won’t face all of the problems that obesity has in store for them down the road. Obesity can lead to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems and even some forms of cancer. Mentally and emotionally, your child faces an uphill battle in gaining acceptance and forming a good sense of self-esteem and self-confidence.

A teen weight loss camp can set things right and give you and your child the tools you both need to overcome this obstacle.

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Parents Must Do Their Part at Home, Too

March 12, 2009 by

Children that live over their healthy weight are 70% more likely to become overweight adults later in life and often suffer from self-esteem and self-worth issues.  Today, the numbers have grown a staggering amount from where they were in 1999 when over 13% of the children in the US were overweight.  High cholosterol and blood pressure are more common in young adults than ever before, leading to increased risk of heart disease.  Further, Type II Diabetes is now being found in overweight children – a disease that was once thought to only affect adults.

The numbers are not pretty and as concerned adults, it is time that we step in to do something about it.  We operate our weight loss camps as an alternative solution, but parents need to make changes at home if they want long-term results.  The obvious culprits for weight gain are unhealthy diets and lack of excercise.  There is a genetic influence, but more often than not an overweight child gets that way due to eating improperly and not getting enough exercise.

What, exactly, does it mean to be “overweight?”  I am not a doctor and will not pretent to be one here, but if you are concerned about your child’s weight you need to see a doctor.  They will be able to measure your kid’s body mass index (BMI) and determine if your child is on an unhealthy path.

Since many overweight children suffer from self esteem or other emotional problems, it is incredibly important that you provide love, care, and support for your child, unconditionally.  Do not make them feel ostracized because of their weight.  Instead, try to incorporate gradual changes in to their diet.  For best results, incorporate these changes in to the entire family’s diet as your child will feel like less of an outsider.

Most doctors recommend that children be active for at least 60 minutes of each day.  As a parent, you can help your child by planning physical activities for your entire family or a group of your child’s friends.  Make sure that you have a safe environment where the children will feel comfortable participating in the activities, regardless of their skill or physical fitness level.

Start simple at home.  If you try to get your child to make too many changes at once, you will not be successful.  If you feel like your household environment is not the best place to begin making some of these changes, you may want to consider sending your child to a summer weight loss camp.  Often, removing a child from their normal surroundings is the best thing for them.

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Steps to Take Before Sending Your Child to Weight Loss Camp

February 24, 2009 by

Summer weight loss camps are effective in helping kids jump start their weight loss efforst, but should not be the first thing that families look in to when trying to help their child lose weight.  While we certainly stand by the effectiveness of our camps, here are some things you can try at home before sending your child away.

Support at Home – Adults struggle with keeping healthy lifestyles.  Some argue that teenagers have even more stress associated with living healthily as they have peer pressure and changing hormones to deal with as well.  As such, it is important that all children have a healthy and supportive family in their corner.  Parents can help children lose weight by leading by example and providing positive feedback to their struggling youth.  Parents also need to promote healthy eating in the choices they make for the family’s meals.  Start simple by getting rid of junk food and replacing snack options with healthier alternatives like fruits and vegetables.

Speak to a Professional – If you haven’t already, take your child to see a doctor.  Doctors will help you put your child’s weight issues in perspective and can help you develop a plan for making changes at home to help your child out.

Activity Level – Exercise is key to losing weight and a lack of exercise is largely responsible for our growing obesity problems.  A family workout plan is a great way to get everyone involved and supportive of your child’s weight loss efforts.  Take a walk after dinner or schedule family days at the local state park or pool.

Diet – Of course, a good diet is the other part to successful weight loss.  Foods should be wholesome and healthy.  Equally important is making sure that meals are eaten and that they are eaten on time.  Children that replace meals with lots of snacks are more likely to be overweight.  Breakfast is especially important, so make sure your child has something healthy to eat every morning.  Try to avoid meals that are too sugary in the morning like childrens cereal.

If you have already made some changes at home and still feel that your child needs help getting the process started, a teen weight loss camp is a great option.  However, it is extremely important that children return home from camp to an environment that is conducive to losing weight.  If nothing changes at home, chances are not good that your child will have long-term success.

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Fat Camp? How the Perception of Overweight Children has Changed

September 30, 2008 by

Years ago, the obese or overweight child faced a lot of scrutiny by their classmates and peers.  Taunting on the playground was sometimes even overlooked by teachers that were ignorant to the plights of these children.  Back then the obese or overweight child stood out, and like any noticeable difference amongst a group, their weight trouble was questioned and looked down on.

In years gone by, overweight children were sometimes sent to a fat camp where they were treated in ways that many parents would find atrocious today.  Their focus was on getting kids to lose weight through an almost drill-sergeant-esque approach.  Their focus was on short term weight loss and much less attention was paid to promoting a holistic healthy approach to living life.

Today with the rise of childhood obesity, more and more children on the playground are in fact overweight or obese.  It’s almost a half and half ratio.  It’s really tough to even say what the average size child is anymore.  As a matter of fact, the flip side are the children on the playground whose parents are so paranoid about their child becoming heavy that they are in fact too thin.

Why do we care about all of this?  Well, if you are a parent of an obese or overweight child, you might take comfort in the fact that your child may not experience the sort of isolation and ridicule that they once did.  As well, you should understand that they may be so comfortable in numbers so to speak, that they don’t see much need to lose weight or grow into their weight.

Ultimately, this boils down to taking a healthy self-empowering approach to childhood obesity.  With the help and guidance of counselors at a weight loss or fitness camp, you can help teach your child about proper weight as it relates to health, not appearance.  Empowering your child to lose weight helps them not only in their weight loss efforts, but also in peer pressure.  When children allow the group to make decisions for them, they aren’t in charge of their lives and are left vulnerable to many potentially harmful situations down the road.

So, while we should be thankful that our children may not experience the same taunting on the playground that obese or overweight kids did when we were young, we need to caution ourselves to take comfort in that totally.  After all, we’re worried about their health, right?  Not their popularity.

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The Scary Truth about Childhood Obesity

September 4, 2008 by

It’s hard to turn on the news or read a paper anymore without hearing something about the obesity crisis in America.  Our poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles have certainly caught up with us.  Today’s kids are feeling the effects as well.  We have more obese children than we have ever experienced.  Years ago, there used to be one or two larger kids per class.  In today’s world, it’s not unlikely that half of the class will be overweight or obese.

Even though your child is not likely to be singled out as heavy kids once were, that does not take away from the truly scary things about childhood obesity.  Obesity is linked to many, many diseases.  If your child is obese, they are likely to have some fairly unpleasant problems in the future such as:

* Increased risk of cardiovascular disease:  High blood pressure, Atherosclerosis, Myocardial Infarction
* Type II diabetes
* Joint problems such as bad knees and back problems
* Increased risk of  developing certain cancers such as breast and prostate cancer
* Lessened quality of life

It’s important that you help your child now before the health conditions are set in stone.  You need to educate yourself and understand the physical and emotional aspects of obesity.  You need to figure out creative ways of helping your child lose a bit of weight and grow into his or her weight without adding a bunch of pressure.  You need to explore other alternatives such as therapy and fitness camp.   Today’s fitness camps are a far cry from the stigmatized “fat camp” of yesterday.

Obesity is something that can be completely reversed if you are willing to work hard and if you are able to empower your child to work hard.  Adjusting one’s life to lose weight efficiently isn’t an overnight process, but if you commit to it now, you’ll be giving your child a wonderful gift; the gift of good health!

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Hidden Childhood Obesity Factors

August 19, 2008 by

When your child is born, your probably never think that you’ll face obesity issues.  Yet, here you are looking up information on teen weight loss camp and how to help your child lose weight.  What happened?  What went wrong?

It’s a blanket order to say that childhood obesity is because of all the junk food in our society and the sedentary lifestyles that our children lead.  True, but not informative enough.  There are some hidden factors behind this epidemic.

For one, the world is not as safe.  When we were children, we often had the run of the neighborhood.   Past learning to look both ways before crossing the street and adopting safe biking rules, our parents really let us out in the morning, expected us back by lunch and then out again until dinner.  Our kids don’t have that luxury.  Is it any wonder why they have so much "screen" time?  What else are they supposed to do?

Secondly, super-sized, junk food advertising is a huge enemy to us and our children.  The bigger, the better, right?  The next time your child is watching something on television, sit down and write down the types of commercials you view along with your child.  Any commercials for fruit and veggies?  Did the ice cream commercial show a child with a normal sized cone or a huge dripping mass of ice cream larger than the child’s face?

So, what do you do?  We need to find creative ways of offering up that physical activity.  Team sports are great, but let’s face it, they are seasonal and usually take place only a few hours a week.  Arrange "watch" time with other parents in the neighborhood.  Maybe each of you could take a day to oversee the kids playing outside.  Set up safety cones to slow down traffic.

Get your child into a fitness camp where they can play actively all day long, safely with other kids.  Find activities in the house that involve more than sitting:  Dancing, indoor obstacles courses, Wii Fit, active games like Hullabaloo.

As far as the advertising goes, remember that though you can’t control the media, you are still in charge of what your child eats.  Down-size, don’t super-size!  Take them to the produce section and let them pick something new to try each week.  Let them know that fruit doesn’t come from a "fruit-roll ups" box.  Try to eat dinner together as a family at least four times a week.  Children learn what they live more than anything else!  And above all, find creative ways of getting them away from that suggestive television!

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How Parents Ruin a Successful Transition Home from Camp

July 31, 2008 by

Sending your child to a summer weight loss camp was probably a difficult decision.  An entire summer of camp can be expensive and parting with your child can be heart-wrenching.  After such sacrifice on your behalf and that of your child’s, it’s imperative that you help your child transition from the camp experience to normal home life without leaving behind all that they’ve learned.  By understanding the top reasons for failure of this important transition time, you can make sure that you won’t make the same mistakes.

1.  Expecting Too Much

Realize that a child loses weight differently than a grown up.  Because your child is still growing, a lot of weight "loss" is really allowing them to grow into their weight.  The time they’ve spent at summer camp will have a greater long term impact than short term impact.  Your child has probably lost weight while at camp, but don’t expect your child to run through that door at a perfectly healthy weight.  This will take time.

2.  Failing to Change

Your child has just spent the summer learning to eat properly and exercise.  What have you done this summer?  We all make mistakes and obviously, if your child is overweight or obese, there has to be  reason for it.  It can be difficult to assess this sometimes.  We feel badly when we make parenting mistakes and sometimes, we just don’t want to accept fault for yet another thing.  But your child’s future health depends on your ability to learn from your mistakes.

3.  Failing to Provide a Healthy Kitchen

You need to make sure that your kitchen is in good shape for your child’s return.  Get rid of the junk.  Get rid of the refined carb’s such as white breads and pastas.  Replace these items with healthful foods such as veggies, fruits and whole grain carbohydrates.  Replace chips with seeds and nuts.  Replace fattening treats like cookies with healthful sweet alternatives such as fruit.   They’ve learned so much and have been working hard to retrain the way they eat.  Don’t tempt them now with a pantry full of junk.

4.  Being Too Strict

In the same breath as the above advice, make sure you don’t go too far the other direction.  Though you don’t want your child eating crummy foods on a daily basis, it’s okay to have treats now and again.  Hopefully, the camp counselors have done their job and helped your child to CHOOSE better foods, but it’s only natural that we all want something sinfully delicious now and again.

5.  Encouraging Couch Potatoism

We’ve all been guilty a time or two of using the TV, computer or gaming system as a babysitter.  Now’s the time to change all of that.  It’s important that you provide continued activity opportunities for your child.  Some of these activities can come in the form of individual time or time spent on a team or other organized class; however, this is also a good time to get the whole family moving.  Take on an activity with your child.  Maybe it’s a walk after dinner or a run in the morning.  Whatever it is, make sure you make it enjoyable.  Maybe the two of you can chit chat while you walk and catch up on all that you missed while they were at summer weight loss camp.

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What Causes Childhood Obesity?

July 2, 2008 by

Childhood obesity is a medical condition that is characterized by a weight well above the norm for their height and age. Doctors define obesity as having a body mass index well above average. Over 15% of American children are considered obese and the number is growing.

There are a number of factors that contribute to childhood obesity. I’d like to look a bit closer at a few.

Eating Habits

Childhood obesity can result from poor eating habits.  When looking at lunches that children bring to school, instead of being packed with a healthy, balanced meal, many are packed with junk food meal and snack items.  Eating out on a regular basis also contributes to weight gain in children.  Children that eat meals at home with the family (all sitting down to eat together) typically weigh less than children whose families eat out several times a week.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is a great factor when it comes to overweight children.  If a child sits around watching TV, playing video games and munching, they are more likely to be obese.  On the other hand when a child gets at least 30 minutes of exercise each day they will be less likely to be overweight.

Biological Factors

A child’s weight is also affected by genetics. Many overweight children have a mother and/or father that struggle to maintain a healthy weight.  Genetic factors such as metabolism may impact a child’s inability to lose weight, but frequently children of overweight parents gain weight simply because their parents are poor role models.  Many children look to their parents for the “right thing to do.”  If a child is raised in a house where healthy eating and exercise are not promoted, it should be no surprise if the child grows up eating unhealthy food and not getting enough exercise.

Lack of Sleep

Believe it or not, lack of sleep is another contributing factor in obese children. Previously this was believed in adults but recent studies have shown that this is also true in children as well. Infants and toddlers that get fewer than 12 hours of sleep are more likely to gain weight.

There are a lot of things that contribute to childhood obesity.  At Camp Pocono Trails, we do our part to provide as many chances as possible to live a healthy lifestyle.  You may have seen us on MTV’s "Return to Fat Camp" where we demonstrated our commitment to help overweight children learn how to eat healthy, be more active, and feel better about themselves.

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Teen Keeps Losing after Weight Loss Camp

June 12, 2008 by

Long Island high school student, Nicole Caroll, lost over 40 lbs. at a weight loss camp last summer and continues to make progress toward her ultimate goal. Playing goalie for the Bayside High School soccer team, Nicole’s increased energy, improved self esteem, and reduced cholesterol is due to hard work and a healthy attitude and is apparent in all aspects of her life. Her family, coach, and teammates all say she is an inspiration.

Nicole’s story is just one of many success stories from kids and teens that start losing weight at a summer fitness camp and continue to meet their long term goals at home. At Camp Pocono Trails, our goal is to have fun, lose weight, and gain self esteem to positively influence lifetime attitudes about health.

Read more about Nicole’s story at NY1 News: http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=19&aid=82524

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Weight Loss for Kids – The Best and Worst Environments

May 23, 2008 by

Childhood obesity is a serious problem because as parents try to figure out how to get their overweight son or daughter to lose weight, they often find dieting and enforcing a vigorous fitness routine doesn’t work well if at all. One sad trend is that despite knowing the health consequences of being overweight, children are still eating unhealthy foods and becoming less and less active as technology is readily available.

Many factors are influencing the trend of children becoming overweight in the US. One factor parents should definitely consider is how the social environment can be a negative or positive place of reinforcing healthy eating habits and being fit. For example, one might look at how the fact that many public schools are poorly funded and receive offers from vending machine companies to get thousands of dollars in exchange for placing their machines in the schools.

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These machines often carry high calorie and nutrient deficient foods (or junk foods as we all know it), and because they are fast to eat and sweet tasting, many kids fall victim to consuming them daily. While some might argue that it is a personal decision whether or not to consume these foods, one must recall the fact that children and teenagers are still growing and often incapable of making the right decision all the time. This inability to often make the right decision for oneself, is why parents must consider how even the school environment can be a negative place for healthy eating habits.

In nutrition, vending machines serve as an especially dangerous exposure for children for many reasons. Everything in this country is fast paced. For example, many schools have a very short lunch break which leaves children just enough time to properly eat a healthy lunch and have time leftover to socialize through play or other means. This is a huge temptation for our kids because they will likely desire to quickly fill up on high calorie foods and sugary beverages so they can go outside and play or socialize with friends.

So, for as long as obesity trends are becoming worse and children must attend school, it is up to parents to try to structure their environment as much as possible so as to leave little room for them to give into their temptation. A positive environment for a child would be surrounding them with people who are all having fun by being active naturally. A summer fitness camp for kids fits this description perfectly because as a positive environment, it will reinforce being active as a natural way to have fun. At the same time it will also provide your child with a structure that prevents them from consuming junk food on a regular basis. They will be having too much fun to think about eating junk food!

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