A sparsely populated area outside of Fresno California now is the home of the nation’s first weight-loss boarding school — Academy of the Sierras.

Teenagers, who must be at least 30 pounds overweight to be considered for admission, come to the school to lose weight (and, hopefully, learn).

In addition to their school work, the kids keep track of each bite of food (limited to 1300 calories per day and less than 12 grams of fat) and exercise every day for about three hours (e.g., a two-mile walk each day at 6:45 a.m.).

They also take classes in nutrition, cooking and fitness and attend at least four hours per week of individual and group therapy.

The cost? — about $500 per pound lost each month by the average student at the school.

Yep, that’s $5,800 per month! This means a school year cost over $50,000. Wow, now that’s an expensive boarding school.

So what do you think? Is this school preparing their students for a life with no weight struggles? — or are their draconian practices having just the opposite affect.

I’d vote for the latter.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of The Straight Scoop About Childhood Obesity

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A British company has introduced a treadmill for kids — a brightly-colored mini-version of the contraptions in gyms and some people’s homes.

In less than a year, more than 120 nurseries and primary schools have purchased this product in the UK. The company (Gymkids) also makes miniature rowing machines and stair-steppers.

How are these products being promoted? — yep, as an approach to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic. The company says that the contraptions are fun to use and will help kids develop the exercise habit early in life.

What happened to playing? You know, climbing, swinging, tag, dodge-ball, four-square, and all the other activities that most kids find fun.

Does anybody really think that having kids walk on a treadmill will develop a life-long love of physical activity?

And, what about the impact on the kids self-esteem? Are the users of these products giving children the message that calories are bad things which must be burned off? That’s the belief of anorexia patients.

Here’s the surprising revelation which I share in my course — the only way to get people to participate in physical activity is to get them to do things they absolutely love to do.

The reality is that some people just love to run on a treadmill. They like how their body feels during and after the exercise and they enjoy the break from their hectic day.

However, I’m pretty sure that’s not true for a majority of the population — so why would it make sense to encourage them to do something they hate? No matter what the motivation level, what’s the chances they are going to keep up this activity for the rest of their lives?

Instead, people need to figure out what activities they love to do. And, isn’t that what childhood is all about — discovering what things you are good at and that you enjoy doing?

Sure, if a kid loves walking or running on a treadmill, they should be allowed to do it. However, I bet — if given the choice — few kids would pick this activity over doing something fun.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of The Straight Scoop About Childhood Obesity

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Here’s what they came up with.

From what I can tell, their innovation is a food plate which is attached to a set of scales. The scales are then attached to a computer.

Here’s how I think it works.

Someone loads up the plate with food and programs the computer with how much food the kid should eat. The kid starts eating and the computer tracks how much food is leaving the plate and then “signals” (I can imagine a screeching alarm) when the prescribed food limit is reached.

The person leading the program at the hospital is quoted as saying “Obesity is a major threat to our children and we owe it to them to do everything we can to protect their health.”

There is so much wrong with this “innovation” that I can’t imagine how anyone could think these researchers deserve some kind of award. The most obvious problem is impracticality. Do the obese kids have to eat all their meals and snacks via this contraption? Who programs the computer and how do the programmers know how much food the child needs at that specific time?

But, here’s the more important question. What does using such a contraption do for the child’s perception of food and eating? Are they learning to fear food? And, if so, what does that mean to their long term ability to manage their eating habits?

I’m sure these researchers have their hearts in the right place and are genuinely interested in helping these obese kids. The problem is, in my opinion, they are doing more harm than good.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of The Straight Scoop About Childhood Obesity

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