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Fat camp opens its doors

Based on US 'fat camps', it caters for 40 children whose parents have paid up to £2,000 for a six-week stay.

On arrival at Leeds Metropolitan University, the youngsters had their height, weight and body fat measured.

One of the group is a 12-year-old boy who weighs 20 stone, while the average weight of the children is 13 stone.

They are to be put on a low-fat diet and taught how to moderate their eating.

They will also be encouraged to play different types of sport and and will be given cookery and nutrition classes.

Camp director Paul Gately, 28, a former British junior athlete who has worked at similar camps in the US, said: "It's a holiday camp for kids with a by-product that they change their lifestyles and body shape.

"They might not lose any weight but they will have gained muscle and lost fat.

"Children who are overweight tend to suffer a great deal of ridicule at the hands of their peers.

"This camp will raise their self-esteem so they can join in sporting activities without embarrassing themselves," he added.

Camp under-subscribed

Most of the children at the camp will stay for a month, some for the minimum two weeks and the rest for six weeks.

Although 150 places were offered, only 40 have been filled.

Mr Gately believes this is because of the cost, which has been partly or fully-funded by the local authorities of just three children.

Research shows that 9% of girls and 13% of boys are now classed as overweight.

Similar camps in the US have helped children lose up to five stone in eight weeks under strict diet and fitness regimes.

Pressure to look perfect

But there are critics who claim that such a summer camp is indicative of society's growing obsession with having the perfect image rather than informing youngsters about leading a healthy lifestyle.

Child psychologist Dr Charlie Lewis said: "Although there are benefits to children staying slim, I wonder whether incarcerating children in such camps is not just another way of trying to get everybody to conform to the norm.

"Parents who might think their children don't have the right look could see this as a quick way of giving them a makeover.

"They could treat these camps as teenage health farms expecting to have the children returned manicured, groomed and re-styled.

"I'm sure if I had obese children I wouldn't consider sending them to such a place. Children change so quickly when they are growing up it might just be that they have puppy fat."

But Mr Gately said children attending the course had been hand-picked for suitability.

He said: "We are not talking about youngsters who are a few pounds overweight. Those coming on the course have all been identified as being obese according to World Health Organisation guidelines.

"They will take part in a range of activities which encourage them to take up sport and exercise for their own long term health benefits.

"Unlike the US camps we are not just aiming to get kids to lose weight. What happens over there is that they lose weight and then put it all back on again as soon as they go home.

"Children at their camps are only allowed 1000 calories a day while our students will be allowed between 1300 and 2300 a day. The menu includes roast beef, chicken fajitas and cottage pie - so you can see we are not trying to starve the kids.

"Parents will also be involved in an educational programme to help their children."

But professor Nick Finer, of the Obesity Research Centre based at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Bedfordshire, said: "You have to consider the psychological effects of sending your child away to such a place.

"Society already discriminates against fat people and I'm concerned that children might see being sent to these camps as a punishment for being fat."

Relevant Stories

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Hong Kong fat fears (23 May 99 | Health)
Obesity epidemic sweeps England (31 Mar 99 | Health)
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Internet Links

Fighting Fat - Fighting Fit
British Nutrition Foundation
Weight Watchers International

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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