•  They have to eat foods they don’t like.
• They are forced to sweat and exercise.
• They are kept from having candy and snacks.
• They are limited or even restricted from video games, television, and other “inactivities.”

To a child, this is like punishment or torture. But now let’s look at what the staff is really doing.

• They are trying to teach children about healthy food choices.
• They are making them exercise to burn off excess fat.
• They are limiting the sugar and carb-filled snacks that add to the fat problem.
• They are teaching kids to be active as entertainment, to burn off calories and keep their weight in check.

In a child’s mind, it is not easy to see that the staff is really trying to help.

When a child goes to a fat camp, they should understand that the camp is a resource for the child to use to create a healthier lifestyle.  They should understand that the members of the staff specialize in childhood obesity and are trying to make a difference in your child’s life.   At camp, your child will be placed on a healthy diet and exercise routine.  Even though it may seem like the army at times, some camps use this kind of tactic as a way of getting through to reluctant children that need a little push in the right direction.

Another advantage of a fat camp is the setting. There are other children there with the same problem that they can make friends with and confide in.  Being surrounded by a group of peers with the same goals and objectives allows peer pressure to work in a positive manner, encouraging each individual to “do what everyone else is” and invest the time and energy into the program.

It is important as a parent to understand what will be happening at the camp and to get involved with your child’s health.  Unfortunately, some children that go to fat camp and lose weight end up gaining all that weight back within weeks of returning home.  Why is this? As a parent sometimes we look at camp as a solution.  We believe that once our children are get back home that they are “cured” and can eat what they want. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Camp is the beginning of a lifelong process.  Once our children get back home, we as parents have to help them stay on the same diet and exercise program that they learned at camp.

Teens often feel at ease when they are not the “only” student who is overweight. This knowledge helps them alleviate their fears and self-conscious feelings that many overweight/obese teenagers have when they must exercise with their slimmer counterparts.

The time teenagers spend at a weight loss camp allows them to open up about their feelings and aggravations. After all, every camper who attends is facing the same kind of challenges and dilemma.  This means the campers can help one another deal with those problems and excuses that plague them.

Teenagers should never be comfortable being overweight. Any excuses given are generally to deflect attention away from the weight. It’s ultimately the “blame game” teens will play, especially if they claim it’s a predisposition in their family. Most teenagers don’t believe this excuse but no one tends to say anything more about it.

However, teen weight loss camps will address these issues right away.  When teenagers face other overweight/obese teenagers who have said all the same excuses, it’s only a matter of time that being honest and facing their insecurities is the only choice.

There’s no reason to be defensive any longer especially when teenagers are peers among teenagers with similar problems. There’s no reason for them to be worried about how they look in front of others, which allows them to be themselves and let their personality shine through.

Most teenagers know that obesity negatively affects their health; however, they don’t really comprehend the emotional turmoil. When they can openly talk about their problems in a place they consider safe, they are taking the initial step to recognizing their weight and setting up a weight loss plan they can follow all through their life.

Weight loss camps want to teens to be truthful and sincere about how they are feeling… as it helps them realize why they are overweight/obese and that it isn’t who they are inside. It also helps them to get control of the weight so they can be the person they always wanted to be.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Teenagers are especially succeptable to getting too caught up in issues of personal image.  As a result, many teenagers these days regularly resort to restrictive diets and strive to maintain a “perfect” body.  We’re all aware that in a few years they will more than likey give up their pursuit for a perfect body as there is not really such a thing, yet more and more teens each year turn to dieting as a short term way to obtain a desired look.  (NOTE:  by “dieting” I am referring to restrictive ‘diets’ that should not be confused with healthy eating habits or a healthy ‘diet.’)

There are a number of reasons that strict diets typically fail in the short term and rarely, if ever, work in the long term for teenagers.  Even children that are overweight will not achieve long-term success from a restrictive diet.  Here’s why:

First, making abrupt changes to food intake by restricting how much food is eaten will disrupt a child’s energy balance and their natural ability to regulate food intake, leading to problems down the road.

Second, studies show that a majority of overweight adults who used dieting as their only weight control method in their teenage years gained that weight back.

Instead of restrictive dieting, kids and teens will be much more successful by eating healthy diets and exercising regularly

Third, many “hot” diets that teens are drawn to are quick weight loss diets that limit the intake of certain food groups, nutrients, etc.  For a growing body, these restictions can be bad and can stunt growth or cause imbalances in their development which can affect their performance in school or other areas of life.  Bigger problems can develop later as a result.

Finally, some teenagers suffer from more serious conditions (e.g. depression) and use their weight issues and dieting as a means to hide or supress the true issues that the child feels they cannot control.  Since the true problem is never addressed with a diet, it never goes away and continues to cause problems for the child later in life.

For these reasons, parents should be wary if/when their child tells them they want to go on a diet.  The bottom line is that restrictive diets as a means to lose weight in teenagers are never worth it.  Their chances for short term success are slim and it is more likely that they are actually doing something that is worse for their body.

If the child needs to lose weight, parents should consider a weight loss program similar to those used at teen weight loss camps where healthy eating is combined with exercise via fun activities.  These fitness camps remove kids and teens from their regular lives and free them from having to deal with the extra pressures that teenagers struggle with.  At the weight loss camp, kids are able to focus on learning healthy living habits while not having to worry about everything else that they struggle with at home.  Once the good habits are developed at camp, they return home where the new habits become a part of their daily lives.

In a child’s mind, especially younger children, it is difficult for them to understand that a fitness camp is something that is going to benefit them for the rest of their lives.  Instead, they may view it as “punishment” for being overweight.

Therefore, it is your responsibility as a parent to explain to your child why they will be attending.  You will know better than anyone else how well your child will be able to comprehend the potential health risks that are associated with obesity in children and whether or not it is even worth it to try and explain these things to your child.

In some cases, it is best to focus on the fun that your child will have when “selling” them on the idea.  Focusing on the fun will help to ease your child’s apprehension about the fitness camp.  And, of course, the less apprehensive your child is about going, the less you’ll be concerned about their success and less likely you will be to put unnecessary pressure on them.

The most important part about having this conversation with your child is making sure that your child does not feel like they’re being sent off as a form of punishment.  Yes, they are going because they need help getting the weight loss process started, but who was the parent that let them get overweight in the first place?  Frame the experience as an opportunity to spend a lot of time outside, meet new friends, and learn new fun games and activities that they enjoy.  Answer any questions that they have about the weight loss camp honestly and positively and work to build a sense of excitement about the program.  The bottom line is that the more excited and comfortable your child is, the more successful they will be.

You’re probably wondering how you can tell if you have child with a weight problem or just a kid with some leftover “baby fat.” The truth is that baby fat is excess weight, so either way, you have an overweight kid. “Baby fat” stays on a body as “pre-teen” fat which then sticks around and becomes adult fat. Research shows that elementary school kids with weight problems are the most likely to have weight issues at age 12 and later on in life. In other words, this problem is best addressed early as it will not go away on its own.

Certain factors that contribute to weight gain are genetic and beyond our control. However, most factors, such as diet and exercise, are well within our control. Parents that are concerned about their child’s weight should begin to encourage their children to eat better and exercise more. A great way to initiate this process is to do these things, such as exercising or eating healthy foods, with them versus telling them to do it while you sit down to watch with a candy bar and a bag of chips.

It is also important that you take your child to the doctor regularly. A doctor will be able to monitor and additional health concerns that come from being overweight and can provide advice and guidance in helping your kid shed some pounds. Your doctor can help you set achievable goals based on healthy weights for children at a particular age.

If you determine that your child does need to lose some weight, make sure you get started right away. The goal is to put an end to the unhealthy habits at an early age so that your child does not have to live with them, and their consequences, for their entire lives. The longer a bad habit is allowed to stick around, the harder it will become to break it. The first step is to get your kid more active. This is often challenging, but you need to identify some activities they can do that they enjoy. Having fun is key here. If your kid doesn’t have fun, they won’t do the activity for very long. If one activity doesn’t work, keep trying others until your child finds something that they enjoy. Provide encouragement and participate when you can.

Next, you’ll want to start working on their diet. Here are a few tips for how to do that:

* Get excited about new, healthy foods and try to get your kids excited as well. Give them a variety of new foods to choose from and experiment with.

* Be careful to not make large, abrupt changes to their diet. Introduce more and more new foods over time instead of all at once.

* Teach them how to choose healthy foods by reading labels and get them involved in your grocery shopping.

* Start replacing junk food with healthier snack alternatives, but don’t forget that a cookie every now and then won’t kill anyone.

* Make sure that the portions you serve are appropriately sized.

* Begin eating your dinner at the table instead of in front of the TV.

Keep in mind that, despite how hard this may sound, it is much easier to do now and prevent further problems than it is to deal with those problems down the road. Do your part to help prevent your kid from gaining too much weight by increasing their activity level and improving their diet. If you get in over your head, know that there are programs out there, such as teen weight loss camps, that can help your kid get started on the right path. However, you have to understand that as a parent, you are ultimately responsible for the health of your child.

1. Weight Loss Camps

“Fat” camps are a thing of the past. Today’s weight loss and fitness camps for kids offer far more than those stereotypical camps of yester-year. There’s a huge emphasis on self-esteem, self-empowerment, knowledge and living healthy for life as opposed to the fat camps that would have isolated your child and put massive restrictions on their diets. Many kids find these camps to be more about fun than anything else which makes the weight loss part of it much easier.

2. Martial Arts

There are more and more youth karate programs springing up that offer not only the physical fitness benefits of martial arts, but also the great benefits of improving self esteem, self discipline and focus. These are areas that your overweight or obese child may struggle with quite a bit as they face the problems associated with the social stigma of being heavy.

3. Cooking Classes

Most overweight or obese children have an unhealthy obsession with food. We all do to some level as our society has put so much emphasis on food being about comfort and celebration. So, it may seem strange to emphasize anything about food or the enjoyment. Not true. We all have to eat and cooking is something that can be regarded as an art. Finding a children’s cooking course that teaches a child to prepare healthful meals will empower them to make better choices. Why not let your child prepare a few healthful meals per week after they’ve finished the class? There’s no reason you shouldn’t all eat healthfully!