WHY DIET CAMPS AND FAT CAMPS DON'T WORK
Traditional diet camps and fat camps can be very successful in helping campers achieve short-term weight loss. However, the evidence is clear. As the New York Times reports, more than half of all campers are "repeat customers," indicating that most (if not all) of these returning campers are regaining the weight they lost over the summer.
Going to a weight loss camp where campers keep coming back is like going to a hospital where patients keep coming back for the same condition. It makes no sense. Why would you want to return to a place that doesn't make you better?
Why do traditional diet camps have such a dismal track record? Fundamentally, these camps do two things: (1) Limit calories consumed; and (2) Increase caloric expenditure through increased activity.
This is exactly what is required for short-term weight loss. However, scientific research demonstrates that there is a defined set of skills required to sustain this weight loss.
Unfortunately, the people who run fat camps aren't scientists, and are not even aware that they are failing to provide these skills. Like most of us, diet camp owners may have struggled with their weight in the past, and think they know what's required for weight loss. However, anecdotal evidence and conventional wisdom are no match for scientific research.
As a result, diet camps and fat camps fail to train campers on these skills (like self-monitoring, easily the most powerful skill anyone can adopt to become a successful long-term weight-controller), and offer virtually nothing in the way of a behavioral change program.
To be sure, some fat camps say they do provide counseling. But these sessions tend to be large group sessions where some campers talk about how they're feeling, and aren't led by trained psychologists or social workers, are not scientifically based, and do not take advantage of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Questions to ask Diet Camps
So if you're considering sending your child to a traditional diet camp or fat camp, before you sign on the dotted line, be sure to ask the following questions:
- What was last year’s average weekly weight loss at Camp?
- What are the camp’s long-term results? What percentage of campers maintain or continue weight loss at home?
- Who designed the weight loss program? What are their credentials? Is the program design scientifically based?
- Is counseling or behavior modification offered? By credentialed therapists?
- If so, do the therapists work full time at the camp during the summer? Does each camper have an individual therapist assigned to him or her? Do therapists continue to work with campers after campers return home?
- How are families involved?
- How many campers return each year? Did they regain weight? Will new campers feel left out because of cliques from prior years?
- How large is the Camp? Is it a manageable size where the Camp Director knows each and every camper?
- Can we talk to several families of campers who have maintained or continued weight loss from last summer?
- Does the camp demonstrate improvements in self-esteem and overall well-being?
