The Adult Weight Loss Camp Approach:
Healthy Weight Loss?
Adult weight loss camps evolved in the 1980's from the traditional
children's summer camp experience. Predictably, as the incidence
of obesity grew across all age ranges in the 70's and 80's,
weight loss camps for kids, teens and adults became popular.
Typically, the weight loss camp setting featured a low calorie
diet and a fitness or exercise program. In the beginning,
many so-called fat farm, fat camp and weight loss boot camp
programs also failed to address fundamental behavioral and
emotional issues, including body
image and body acceptance struggles. Working through these
issues are key for many to successfully establish a long-term
healthy
eating pattern and healthy lifestyle. In particular, weight
loss camps tended to disregard the critical shift in thinking
that needs to occur to create lasting lifestyle
change, instead employing just another quick-fix approach.
Can Weight Loss Camps Promote Long-Term
Weight Loss?
While many children, teens and adults enrolled in these programs
lose weight and return home fitter, little data exists in
the literature about whether these outcomes are permanent.
Many experts suggest that the results are short-lived because
true behavioral change cannot occur in the absence of teaching
how to eat (opposed to how to restrict/diet) and without learning
how to deal with the emotions and stresses that trigger overeating.
Finally, experts also questioned – and still do -- whether
younger age campers are emotionally ready to create long-term
changes, regardless of the program curriculum.
Today, many experts agree that a children's weight loss camp
may not be the best approach for helping children with obesity.
A program that integrates the family in the treatment and
does not stigmatize the child is preferred.
What To Look For in Deciding About a
Weight Loss Camp
A stay at an adult weight loss camp, however, can be helpful
in creating healthy lifestyle behaviors that promote healthy
weights. Consider the following questions when deciding about
an individual adult weight loss camp:
- Is the overall philosophy geared towards weight loss at
any cost, or is it focused on creating healthy lifestyles
that promote healthy weights?
- How do the various components of the program support that
philosophy to achieve the desired results?
- Does the staff include qualified counselors, health professionals
such as nutritionists, registered dietitians, psychologists
and exercise physiologists?
- Is the program tailored to meet individual needs; how
many participants does the program allow per session?
- Is counseling available to help make changes in eating
and lifestyle choices?
- Does the program include stress management and a behavioral
component dealing with emotional aspects of eating?
- What aftercare support is provided? How long does this
last?
Green Mountain's unique understanding of young and adult women's
issues around food, eating, and body acceptance/image is the
result of 35 years of working with women like you. The non-diet
philosophy of our small-sized program -- where the emphasis
is on helping each woman successfully attain a healthy weight,
feel good about herself and have fun in the process -- remains
the same as it was conceived over 35 years ago, only modified
to meet the changing needs and realities of today's busy woman.
Learn more about Green Mountain at Fox Run's healthy
weight loss program.
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