A guest post from Jim Huinink of www.camps.ca.
Childhood obesity remains a growing problem across North America. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website, the percentage of overweight children has tripled in the last 20 years. Although childhood obesity rates are leveling off in the last two years, “a third of U.S. kids remain either overweight, obese or morbidly obese.”
There are many different things that can be done to prevent or reduce obesity in our children. For example, many parents hope that a weeklong summer camp will help get their child active and thinking about fitness. But camp leaders at kids’ weight loss camps completely disavow this belief.
Brandon McClounie of the British Columbia Camping Association says, “When you’re trying to change habits a week’s not really going to cut it.” The more time spent at a weight loss camp the better. “With a month (at camp), you’re really compounding the results. It ingrains more of the healthy lifestyle that campers can carry on after they leave.”
Inside one weight loss camp, the focus on long-term commitment is echoed. Jill Baxter is camp director of Active Challenge, a summer camp in Canada’s national capital, Ottawa. She says her camp is “no joy ride. We haven’t had a single girl yet who didn’t say the camp was the biggest challenge of her life. Ideal campers are those who recognize they want to make some changes and have more energy.”
Many kids and their families are poorly equipped to deal with their obesity on their own. They may focus on one aspect – such as overeating or exercise – only to find this narrow “solution” frustrating. Obesity is usually caused by a variety of factors.
One young camp Active Challenge camper says it was hard to convince her mom that she was serious when “[for] 4 years when I was gaining weight, she had been paying for a gym membership for me. I would go for about a week or two and then stop.”
McClounie adds, “The dietary aspect is key… (Weight loss) camps can really hone in on cardio and nutrition, too.” The results of the broad focus gained through immersion in a weight loss camp cannot be underestimated.
Shelby is one success story from Active Challenge. She came to the camp weighing 206 lbs. at age 15. “I was so homesick [but] the cool thing was that Jill was always there no matter what.” Slowly, over an entire summer, Shelby started to feel the transformation. “By the second month I was more willing to let go of my worries and just have fun.” By summer’s end, she had lost 29 lbs “and had a blast doing it.”
She happily summarizes her summer at a weight loss camp: “It not only taught me how to eat right and exercise daily, it helped me gain confidence, not only in my physical appearance but it built my self esteem.”
Like any kind of weight loss regimen, kids’ health and fitness camps require commitment. Unlike many other weight loss strategies, these camps offer a complete immersion in a weight loss regimen that includes diet, exercise, attitudinal changes and more. If you know an overweight child, consider the benefits of sending them to a well regarded, authorized and preferably certified weight loss camp.
Jim Huinink is the website editor for www.camps.ca, a Canadian authority on all varieties of summer camps for kids, including weight loss camps.
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