Overweight Children Join Britain's First Fat Camp
July 25, 1999 - 0:0
LEEDS, England Forty obese children waved goodbye to their parents and 6,000 calories a day on Sunday to prepare for six weeks of rigorous exercise and dieting at Britain's first U.S.-style "fat camp". The 11 to 17-year-olds, who weighed in at an average 188 lbs (84 kg), began their new daily diet of between 1,300 and 2,300 calories recently. To strike the right balance between diet and exercise, they will have access to sports facilities normally used by olympic athletes in training at the camp, which is based at Leeds Metropolitan University in northern England. The overweight youngsters, who have paid at least 1,600 pounds ($2,500) for the course, will rise at 8 A.M. each day for cereal and aerobics, followed by lectures on nutrition to teach better exercise and diet habits.
While the emphasis is on a low-fat diet, the children, who previously had an average daily intake of 6,000 calories, will eat normal foods in small portions. So pizza and chips will not necessarily be off the menu. "It's a holiday camp for kids, with a by-product that they can change their lifestyle and body shape," said 28-year-old camp director and former British junior athlete Paul Gateley, who worked for eight years at weight loss camps in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Cullen, a 15-year-old boy from a town on the English south coast, looked subdued as he surveyed the camp.
"It's all right, I guess," he said. One parent, who asked not to be identified, said it had taken his teenage daughter a lot of courage to sign up for the camp. He was happy to pay the fee but said television cameras outside the gates were intrusive. "Our daughter didn't want everyone knowing she was coming here," he said. "Kids get teased at school." Opponents of fat camps in the U.S., where they have been in operation for 30 years, criticize their high cost and say they produce little long-term benefit, as children quickly regain any weight lost.
Four percent of britain's 11 to 16-year-olds are classed as obese, and 12 percent of girls and eight percent of boys are judged overweight. (Reuter)
While the emphasis is on a low-fat diet, the children, who previously had an average daily intake of 6,000 calories, will eat normal foods in small portions. So pizza and chips will not necessarily be off the menu. "It's a holiday camp for kids, with a by-product that they can change their lifestyle and body shape," said 28-year-old camp director and former British junior athlete Paul Gateley, who worked for eight years at weight loss camps in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Cullen, a 15-year-old boy from a town on the English south coast, looked subdued as he surveyed the camp.
"It's all right, I guess," he said. One parent, who asked not to be identified, said it had taken his teenage daughter a lot of courage to sign up for the camp. He was happy to pay the fee but said television cameras outside the gates were intrusive. "Our daughter didn't want everyone knowing she was coming here," he said. "Kids get teased at school." Opponents of fat camps in the U.S., where they have been in operation for 30 years, criticize their high cost and say they produce little long-term benefit, as children quickly regain any weight lost.
Four percent of britain's 11 to 16-year-olds are classed as obese, and 12 percent of girls and eight percent of boys are judged overweight. (Reuter)