Weight Loss Articles and Tips for Overweight Teens and Children
Weight Loss, Global Warming, and Problem Solving
To mark Earth Day last week, a team of researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine released a new study showing a link between the obesity epidemic and the long-term challenge of global warming.
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You've Got to Move It to Lose It
According to a five-year study conducted by researchers at various Canadian universities, the drop in physical activity that teens experience during winter months contributes significantly to a general slowdown in exercise habits during adolescence.
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It's All in the Family
Parents who used the Wellspring Plan to change their own lifestyles were far more likely to have very successful campers compared to parents who did not follow the program.
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Grim News, but Hope for Change
An attempt to effect lifestyle change (i.e., change multiple behaviors simultaneously), which lies at the heart of a promising new model outlined in this month's issue of the journal Obesity Management, offers some hope.
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Lesson from New England Journal of Medicine Study: Diet without Lifestyle Change is Not Enough
Diets are largely ineffective. Becoming a successful weight controller clearly involves far more than changing the macronutrients in the diet. Weight loss is complex and behavioral in nature, and requires a coordinated and systematic plan of attack.
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When it Comes to Ideas about How to Lose Weight - Everyone is an Expert - But Not Really
Very few topics generate as strong opinions as weight loss. If you've gotten into any arguments lately about this, you'll understand what we mean. Many Wellspring families find that they do get into some of these arguments after they adopt the Wellspring approach and begin returning to much healthier weights.
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Obesity and School: Is There a Connection?
As the new school semester is underway across the country, our thoughts turn to schools and their relationship to the challenge of childhood obesity. Research indicates this relationship is a two-way street: the school environment contributes to the problem (perhaps), and obesity affects the academic performance of children.
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Fast Food News
The problems associated with fast food are well known. But this hasn't stopped researchers from continuing to plumb the depths in several new studies.
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Make a Real Commitment for the New Year
Several new studies illustrate just how hard it is to make a commitment, and equally, how critically important it is to really commit oneself to achieving an important goal, such as weight loss.
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New Year's Resolution: Don't Go On a Diet - CHANGE Your Diet
Diets are simply too complicated and they restrict freedom too much. Temporary success is likely, but long-term success is very unlikely. This is why we train our students and campers to love foods that love them back - foods that taste great, but that are low calorie-density and also low in fat.
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The Key Question for Weight Controllers in the Holiday Season is: How Healthy is my Healthy Obsession Right Now?
When families gather for feasts, when parties come in bursts, and when outdoor activities lose much of their appeal, weight control becomes especially difficult.
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Conventional Wisdom?
Read about three new studies - one that confirms conventional wisdom, one that runs counter to conventional wisdom, and one that is simply unconventional.
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Medicating our Children
A new study released last week provided ample confirmation that - for better or worse - our kids are more medicated than ever before.
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Eleven Medical Reasons to Help Your Teenage Son Lose Weight
Here are the eleven medical reasons to help your son lose weight.
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13 Medical Reasons to Help Your Teenage Daughter Lose Weight
Here are the 13 medical reasons to help your daughter lose weight.
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7 Ways to Help Your Reluctant Wellspring Camper Take this Important Step to a Better Life
The following suggestions have helped hundreds of families transform reluctance into acceptance - sometimes even into appreciation of this remarkable opportunity.
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Academy of the Sierras Is Changing Its Name to Wellspring Academies
Using one name for all our programs also helps communicate the consistency of the Wellspring approach.
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Exercising Your Options: Treadmill + Computer Desk = The New "Walkstation" - Is It a Good Idea for Weight Controllers?
Research shows that three aspects of activities lead people to maintain them effectively. Let's consider each of them to develop an educated guess about the usefulness of this new device.
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New Study Shows Intensive and Comprehensive Weight Management Programs Are Most Effective at Helping Children Return to a Healthy Weight
A new study by University of Maine Researchers demonstrates that the most effective treatments for combating childhood obesity are the most intensive and comprehensive programs.
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Dancing 10,000 Steps With The Stars
Although ballroom dancing is not be a miracle cure for obesity, it can be a good part of an active, healthy lifestyle, along with a low calorie-density, very low-fat diet and daily physical activity.
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Summer = Weight Gain, Especially for Overweight Kids
From speaking with tens of thousands of parents of overweight children, adolescents and young adults, Wellspring admissions counselors know that most families with overweight kids believe that summer is a time when their kids are likely to be more active and to lose weight.
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How to Deal with Stress and be a Successful Weight-Controller
Psychologists have studied stress management for decades and know a great deal about those who are able to manage their weight successfully when faced with stressors.
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The Singular Importance of Simplicity
Decades of research have demonstrated that complex rules are simply harder to follow, especially over an extended period of time.
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Why Fad Diets Don’t Work and Why the Wellspring Approach Does
Last year's campers lost an average of 4.2 pounds a week, but more importantly, they learned how to maintain lifestyle changes once they got home. more »
Academy of the Sierras Extreme Makeover
Academy of the Sierras will appear on Extreme Makeover on ABC Monday July 9 at 9 p.m. Watch to see how AOS helps overweight teens become permanent weigh controllers!
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Get Rid of the Couch, Not the TV, to Help Your Overweight Child
One of the more noteworthy innovations at Wellspring Academies is our fitness center. There, you’ll find large plasma screen TVs with over 400 channels via DirecTV. But here’s the catch: you need to be on a treadmill, elliptical, stationery bike or Stairmaster in order to watch. If you aren’t moving, you’re leaving. And there isn’t anywhere else on campus where you can watch TV. more »
Bring the Sierras Solution Home
If the first step to losing weight is making the decision to lose weight, perhaps one of the reasons the epidemic of childhood obesity continues unabated is a lack of recognition that the issue exists. more »
The Most Important Tool For Long-Term Weight Control
Many scientific studies have demonstrated the importance of self-monitoring for successful long-term weight control. Simply put, weight controllers who self-monitor very consistently lose much more weight and keep if off much better than those who don’t self-monitor consistently. Dr. Tom Wadden of the University of Pennsylvania describes self-monitoring as the “cornerstone” of behavioral treatment for weight problems.more »
How to Help Your Child Make the Decision to Lose Weight
When they've asked for help, we have recommended a specific approach. Countless families have found it to be an effective way to help their child start down the road to a healthier life. more »
Pedometer: The Key Device for Weight Control
Wellspring provides pedometers for all campers and students. Pedometers are remarkable devices that sit on your hip and count each step you take. Wearing a pedometer is critical to measuring activity relative to your daily goal of 10,000 steps. more »
Setting Appropriate Limits
One of the bigger challenges parents face concerns setting appropriate limits. If your child is like most of our students or campers, he or she has demonstrated a strong desire to spend hours online, at www.myspace.com, or playing videogames. If these appear to be getting in the way of weight control, it's time to begin setting limits. Establishing these limits gets easier if you are able to negotiate them with your young weight controller. more »
Study Reveals Being Overweight as a Child Significantly Increases Risk of Heart Disease in Adulthood
In a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers demonstrated a strong correlation between excess weight in children and heart disease in adults. more »
How to Lose Weight Over the Holidays
Research shows that weight controllers can not only learn to manage the challenges of the holidays, they can master them. Research has pointed a number of critical elements of effective weight control during such high risk occasions. more »
Recognizing the Problem
With nearly two-thirds of American adults overweight or obese, it's no wonder we have a hard time discerning whether our kids are at a healthy weight, or whether they're overweight. At Wellspring, we believe that our collective failure to recognize the problem is holding us back from getting serious about real solutions for kids in need.
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New Study Demonstrates Kids Are Less Active
A recent study shows a steady decline in physical activity in 1,032 children in 10 different U.S. cities.
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"It's the Behavior, Stupid."
Researchers found that the obese children who completed weight loss programs with a focus on behavioral management weighed between 3 pounds and 23 pounds less, on average, than obese children who were not involved in such programs. This weight difference was the greatest among those who were enrolled in more intensive programs.
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Let Wellspring Nag You About Nagging
A new study published this week in the Journal of Personality illustrates just how harmful nagging your child can be.
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Back to School: Shorter Recesses and Fewer Soft Drinks
In returning to school over the past month, students are returning to environments that well-meaning school boards, principals, teachers and parents are continually trying to improve - both in terms of test scores as well as a healthy environment. However, in some cases good intentions are not yielding positive results, particularly with regard to overweight and obesity in our children.
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Telling It Like It Is
Today, nearly every country employs the same terminology to describe obese and overweight children. Children whose weight and height put them in the 95th percentile BMI (or higher) for their gender and age are classified as obese. Children between the 85th and 95th percentile are classified as overweight.
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Overweight Connected to Poor Academic Performance
A new study published by Temple University researchers in the July issue of the journal Obesity found that overweight kids are more likely to do poorly in school.
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Summertime: The Most Fattening Time of the Year
Extra time and looser structures during the summer provides kids with more time for computers, digital entertainment and snacking - and they often gain more weight during the summer than at any other time of the year.
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Step Into Summer: Is the Goal of 10,000 Steps
For weight controllers, simple clear and easily remembered goals probably help them stay focused. We know that 10,000 steps of activity every day, not just on weekends, does such things as increase metabolic rate all day and improve metabolism.
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Two New Studies Demonstrate Importance of Treatment for Overweight Children and Teens
As if we didn't have enough to worry about, two studies released last week underscore just how critical it is to address overweight and obesity as soon as possible for children and teens.
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Could an Obese Candidate be Elected President?
As the 2008 presidential election kicks into high gear over the summer, it's interesting to consider whether an obese candidate could be elected President of the United States.
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Stress and Weight Gain
In high stress countries like the U.S., we spend less time each day eating and have the world's highest rate of adult obesity.
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Debunking Conventional Wisdom About Activity and Weight Loss
Study found that overweight teens who self-weigh at least weekly were 4x as likely to report engaging in healthy weight-control behaviors.
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Can You Control What Your Child Eats?
Many parents ask us: Can I do more to control what my child eats? Certainly, you can control the food you bring into the home and you can modify your eating habits in accord with healthy guidelines.
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Overweight: It's a Serious Health Problem, Even for Teens
In a recent study out of the Medical College of Georgia, researchers examined 126 male adolescents and found the hormone aldosterone highest among the subjects who were overweight.
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Weight Bias at Home and School
As we know firsthand from the hundreds of children, adolescents and young adults who have arrived at Wellspring programs in recent weeks, overweight young people pay a huge emotional price for their excess weight.
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Is Overweight the New Normal for Kids?
With over ⅓ of all children, adolescents and young adults overweight or obese, it's no wonder that we're seeing overweight youth depicted in the mainstream media with greater frequency.
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Could an Obese Candidate be Elected President?
While childhood obesity is a very different problem, it shares with poverty the characteristic of a high level of complexity. In the case of obesity, the complexity arises from a potent mix of biology, environment and behavior.
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