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 There are two likely possibilities if your kid is overweight: he or she is quiet and withdrawn, or he or she acts out as an extreme extrovert, always goofing off or engaging in self-degradation.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.
