Children rewarded at fitness camp

By Catherine Marston
BBC News

Jamal has gained in confidence since going to the camp

Six weeks ago Rotherham Primary Care Trust sent 38 of its most overweight and obese children to a specialist weight loss camp near Bradford.

Jeneisha and Jamal Holroyd-Bruce were both badly bullied and lacked confidence six weeks ago.

Since then, they have been at the Carnegie camp and I went to find out how they got on.

Jeneisha and Jamal have changed and it is not just their physical appearance which is different.

They both look slimmer, their faces are thinner and they have rosy cheeks.

Badly bullied

Something else has altered too. They are both confident, chatty and excited - a far cry from the two young people I met a little over six weeks ago in Rotherham.

Neither Jeneisha nor Jamal would discuss their weight with me then.

They both explained they were badly bullied at school and felt very low about themselves.

They were both classed as obese and chosen by Rotherham PCT to attend the camp in Apperley Bridge, West Yorkshire.

We work with the children and their families, teaching parents how to cook - getting them more engaged with physical activity so they get a passion Professor Paul Gately Weight loss summer camp ends

Now 12-year-old Jamal has lost 21 pounds (9.5kg) and Jeneisha, eight, has shed almost a stone (6.3kg).

"When I had the weight I couldn't run or move easily, and I couldn't bend over or jump high," says Jeneisha.

"But without the weight I can run faster and jump higher".

Jamal says he feels proud of himself and "a lot better".

"I felt taller at first and as time went on a whole lot slimmer," he adds.

The camp works by changing attitudes to food and exercise.

Healthier options

The young people are encouraged to re-think the choices they make with their diets and are given life skills to help them when they return home.

One exercise even involved visiting a fast food restaurant with advice on the healthier options they could have.

Staff at the camp say its naïve to think the children will not visit these kinds of places back in Rotherham, so equipping them with the information to make better choices is vital.

The children are shown how much weight they have lost

One in three children in Rotherham is overweight and 20% of 10-year-olds there are obese.

Rotherham PCT knows it has a serious problem on its hands and sending children to the summer camp marked the start of a three-year programme to tackle the weight issue.

It will cost around £1.5m and will target around 2,000 young people who struggle with their weight.

When the 38 children leave camp, they will receive further help back home.

"We are working with them for the next four months," explains Professor Paul Gately, who runs the Carnegie camp.

"We work with the children and their families, teaching parents how to cook and all those kinds of activities, getting them more engaged with physical activity so they get a passion.

Healthy optimism

"The whole family will then continue to change."

Camp organisers say over 85% of those attending the camp do not gain weight, even with no further help once they leave.

There is a healthy optimism that with a consistent source of help for the Rotherham children and their families, children like Jamal and Jeneisha will eventually get their weight down to normal levels and see their life expectancy and health improve dramatically.