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Old 12-26-2004, 06:56 PM
James James is offline
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Boarding school for fat kids?

What do you guys think?


http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story...10442168c.html

Dealing with a heavy burden

After diets and camps fail, desperate families turn to the Academy of the Sierras, a boarding school for obese kids that has a rigorous academic program.

By Tracy Correa
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Sunday, December 5, 2004, 6:31 AM)

John Walker / The Fresno Bee

John Walker / The Fresno Bee

REEDLEY -- Terry Henry was 560 pounds when his family decided to send him to a rural boarding school to help him lose weight.

The 16-year-old's grandparents are footing the $5,500 monthly tuition because his parents cannot afford it. They're paying for him to live for 18 months at the school, about 3,000 miles from his home in Exeter, N.H.

For desperate families such as Terry's, the Academy of the Sierras is a last resort.

The school's 17 students, from as far as Florida and Ecuador, are here for one reason: They are overweight, and their families don't know what to do. After diets failed and summer weight-loss camps provided only temporary solutions, the year-round school offers a glimmer of hope.

About 25 miles southeast of Fresno, the school is said to be the nation's first boarding school for obese students. The for-profit school, nestled on 65 acres near the Kings River, opened in September.

The 30-member staff teaches students to replace poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles with good nutrition and physical activity.

Students, ages 12 to 20, eat healthy meals and exercise regularly, all under close supervision. College preparatory classes are part of the rigorous academic program.

Some students come from well-to-do families, while others, such as Terry's, have to scrape together tuition from relatives.

Ryan Craig, the academy's executive director, says the school is for those with significant weight problems: "We don't have anyone here less than 80 pounds overweight." The school requirement is at least 30 pounds overweight. The cost is out of reach for many families. The academy has no students from the surrounding central San Joaquin Valley, even though the region's childhood obesity rate exceeds the statewide average of 26.5%.

Craig says the school is trying to help families tap into financial aid and has gotten some health insurers to cover the counseling portion of the program.

The school is a first for Healthy Living Academies, a division of Aspen Education Group, which runs summer weight-loss camps. Aspen has been in existence since the 1980s and operates 28 residential and outdoor programs in 11 states, most of them schools for troubled children.

The company bought the Reedley property -- once owned by Kings View Mental Health System -- almost two years ago and opened a school for emotionally disturbed children. The school had only a small number of students when the company switched gears, deciding the campus was the perfect site for a weight-loss boarding school.

If the academy is successful, the Cerritos-based company plans to operate more weight-loss schools nationwide.

Craig says he's convinced the concept will work. Enrollment has more than doubled since the school opened Sept. 7; 70 students are expected within a year. With some additional remodeling, the school could accommodate 130 students.

Most students are encouraged to stay at least a semester -- three to four months -- but are welcome to stay longer. Students return home occasionally, as most did over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Students such as Terry enter the program with high hopes, having battled weight issues for most of their lives.

"I was born a big baby -->

He is one of the largest at the academy, where students weigh from 200 to 600 pounds. He says there is a certain comfort and camaraderie in being with students who share the same struggle.

Structured days

The daily routine at the academy begins with a 2-mile walk at 7 a.m.

Students walk briskly past farmhouses and orchards. They have walked the same path almost daily since September. A few of the heavier students, who have difficulty with long walks because of leg chafing caused by their size, whiz by on bicycles -- visual blurs against the serene country backdrop.

After getting showered and dressed, they meet in the cafeteria for breakfast, then head off to classes. Classes end at 3:20 p.m. on weekdays, followed by dinner, more exercise and a 90-minute study hall for homework. Classes include advanced-placement calculus, economics, psychology and statistics.

The strict routine has been difficult for Natasha Ulch.

Natasha, 16, gained most of her weight while growing up in Canada. She has lived in Ecuador, where her father works for an oil company, for the past 41/2 years.

She views her stay at the academy as a California adventure, but the academic work has been a challenge, and she has not lost weight as fast as other students. It took her three weeks to lose 5 pounds.

But she has been through tough times before, like when she was at her heaviest and teased mercilessly at school. When she walked down the hall, students would say, "Oh, there's an earthquake."

A tough-talking girl with a double-pierced tongue, she usually would fire back with an expletive.

The comments affected her deeply. "I missed a half-year because of it."

Back in the cafeteria, the big news was the recent addition of bagels to the morning menu, which includes Egg Beaters, turkey bacon, fresh fruit and yogurt.

The academy's weight-loss program divides foods into "controlled foods" and "uncontrolled foods." Controlled foods typically include entrées and snacks and are limited.

Students are allowed to eat more uncontrolled foods, including fruit, yogurt and vegetables. The school offers foods that are high in protein and fiber but low in calories and fat. A display board in the cafeteria breaks down the calories, fat and protein of each food so students can track them in a daily log.

There are no vending machines. The only television set is in a workout room, and students are told they must be moving to watch it.

Exercise is a major part of the program, with staff members usually participating and encouraging students. Students wear pedometers and are encouraged to take 10,000 steps a day. There are weekend recreational trips -- two national parks are within driving distance.

Jon Peterson, a fitness trainer originally from Clovis, designs a personal workout program for each student. He works with students twice a week for about 50 minutes.

"We start out very slow," he says. "Most of what they gain the first few weeks is muscle control."

The workouts are modified for each student.

In many cases, Peterson says, he does not need to add weights to an exercise such as leg lifts: "Lifting their own body supplies the weight."

Over a recent breakfast, classmates discuss their progress and say Terry is in the lead in terms of pounds lost. They say this without animosity or jealousy, insisting they support and cheer on one another at the weekly weigh-ins.

Even so, 17-year-old Daniel Burger of Mesa, Ariz., looks enviously toward Terry. "We all know who has lost the most. It's not a contest, but everybody knows," he says.

Terry ducks his head and tries to appear unaffected, but he is unable to suppress a smile.

His weight loss has come quickly. He lost 19 pounds in his first week at the school. In all, he's lost 100.2 pounds.

Living with obesity has not been easy for him. He knows he stands out.

Wearing a T-shirt with the words "Big Daddy," Terry says he is used to stares, although he's not sure whether it's his piercings or his weight that attract attention. "People can't get past the looks on the outside."

Obesity epidemic

There is no shortage of students who could qualify for the school. Obesity rates for children continue to rise nationwide.

Since the early 1970s, the percentage of American children and adolescents defined as overweight has more than doubled to about 16%, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More children suffer from obesity's side effects, including type 2 diabetes -- once referred to as adult-onset diabetes.

Three out of four overweight teens remain heavy into adulthood, when health problems can worsen.

About $117 billion a year is spent treating obesity-related ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. Obesity is the nation's second-leading killer, behind tobacco.

None of this is lost on those who work at the academy, where the goal is to teach students to take control of their lives.

The school employs a staff aimed at steering students back to a healthy weight. Daniel Kirschenbaum, a professor at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, serves as clinical director. He has developed successful weight-loss programs for hospitals and is the author of "The 9 Truths About Weight Loss," a book aimed at providing a manageable program for controlling weight.

The school also aims to get students back on track academically. Many of the academy's students have been exposed to so much ridicule from classmates that they have dropped out of school.

Studies have shown a correlation between nutrition and how well students perform in school.

A report released in September by the national nonprofit organization Action for Healthy Kids shows that poor nutrition, inactivity and weight problems impair student achievement and cost school districts money from lost attendance.

Bill Potts-Datema, chairman of Action for Healthy Kids and director of Partnerships for Children's Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, says because obese students often face both health and academic challenges, there is a need for schools like the Academy of the Sierras.

"Kids have to be healthy to know how to learn, but they have to learn how to be healthy," he says.

Potts-Datema says obese students face obstacles most other children don't: "Students who are overweight are missing more school. They oftentimes are dealing with health issues that kids at a normal weight don't."

Mal Mahedy, 16, of Naples, Fla., says she had a difficult time in traditional school.

It was torture, says Mal, her brownish-blonde hair pinned in a ponytail. "I've been called every name in the book." The cruelty went beyond name-calling when students played a practical joke on her -- they Super-Glued the lock to her locker so she could not open it. She's convinced her appearance made her a target for the prank.

Her self-esteem crumbled, school absences increased, and her grades plummeted. She didn't want to go to school, and her family resorted to a private home tutor.

"My weight has affected my life severely," Mal says. "I didn't want to leave the house. ... I don't have self-esteem. I want to have self-esteem."

Mal is more upbeat at the academy, which she likes better than the weight-loss summer camps she has attended: "I've learned more in 11/2 weeks than five summers in weight-loss camps."

Overweight since she was 10, she has lost 64 pounds at the academy.

Life after school

Fresno doctor Gary Matson, a family practitioner who devotes half of his practice to treating obesity, likes the fact that the school is helping obese adolescents, but he worries about their being away from family. He also wonders what happens when students return home.

"It sounds like they have the right mix," he says. "But the only way we can do this is to make it routine."

Matson is particularly troubled by the increasing toll that obesity takes on younger children. In his practice, "we had a 13-year-old with elevated cholesterol and signs of early diabetes. This child was more than 300 pounds."

Treating obesity is complex, he says. It's about genetics, family eating habits and environment.

Academy officials say they are not teaching the kids to diet; they are teaching them to eat healthy and incorporate exercise into their lives.

"It's based on science, not fad," says Molly Carmel, the school's live-in therapist who struggled with her weight as a teen.

Therapy is a critical part of the program. Studies have suggested that the obese are five times more likely to suffer from depression.

Carmel meets with each student twice a week -- in a group and one-on-one. She goes over food logs with students and encourages them to talk about problems and emotions that might hinder success.

"We talk about what is different this time," she says.

"This time" resonates with most of the students. Many are alumni of weight-loss summer camps, where parents send them away for six to eight weeks to lose weight. Students say they lost weight at camp, only to regain it when they returned home.

David Ginsburg, assistant chief of the cancer prevention and nutrition division at the California Department of Health Services, says schools such as the Academy of the Sierras should be considered in more communities. However, he worries that the program is out of reach for low-income families.

The academy's $5,500 monthly tuition is on the high end for therapeutic boarding schools -- live-in schools that offer clinical counseling -- according to the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. Therapeutic boarding schools cost about $3,700 to $5,500 a month, according to the association.

Most of the association's 129 member schools deal with emotionally disturbed children. The Academy of the Sierras is the association's only school specializing in obese children.

Ginsburg also worries that the program's teachings won't stick when students leave the campus.

Getting a handle on childhood obesity is not simple, he says. "Many of the reports that are coming out are talking about a multipronged approach. You are looking at school, community, industry and media."

He said parents are part of the equation.

School officials say they realize students could slip into old habits when they return to their families. Some did when they went home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Craig says most students lost weight after spending a few days at home for the holiday, but some others gained.

School officials say they will work on reinforcement in hopes that the tools they provide follow students home. A six-month follow-up plan will allow school officials to keep in contact with students and their families by phone and e-mail.

Executive Director Craig says he knows it will be difficult for students to keep off the weight.

"They will never be like you and me," he says, explaining their lifelong struggle.

Matson, the Fresno weight management doctor, says his biggest concern is that students won't be able to keep up with the program once they return home.

"I worry who is going to get up and take that 2-mile walk with them."
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Old 12-26-2004, 10:08 PM
sugar and spice sugar and spice is offline
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I agree that there will be a demand for it. As the article said, a year-round school environment can help instill habits in a far better, more long-term way than a month at fat camp ever could. And it sounds like for many of these kids, the even bigger benefit than losing the weight is the fact that they are in an environment where they aren't humiliated by other people nearly as often.

(I've gotta admit that the rule about the only television being in the workout room and that you have to be moving to watch it is a dirty rotten trick -- but a brilliant one. Haha.)

However, I think the biggest problem that comes with a school for the obese is that, unlike fat camp or diets or things like that, it is not at all anonymous. Weight and especially weight loss can be such a personal thing in this country. If you end up at fat camp, the legacy of that won't follow you around forever -- but if you graduate from "that school for obese kids" that's going to be on your resume for a while, your college applications, etc.

I also agree that in many cases, family background plays too big of a role to be ignored. When these kids start losing weight, they also have to be educating the parents on what they have to do to make this change permanent.

And the tuition IS definitely on the high end, even when compared to many prestigious academic boarding schools. I know that obesity spans the entire socioeconomic spectrum, but am I wrong that it is more common in the middle and lower classes than the upper classes? If you put a price tag like that on losing weight, the majority of the population won't be able to afford it.
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Old 12-27-2004, 12:14 AM
Coramoor Coramoor is offline
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I don't think it will work.

The kids that go there may lose weight and feel good about themselves. Hell, they may even come home and stick to their diet and work-out routines for a few months perhaps even years...

The bottom line is that it comes down to the individual. It seems that most of these kids have went to summer fat camps and other programs, and while they lose weight they don't keep it off b/c they can't control themselves at home when no one is watching.

I think we should follow the lead of some European countries in this. Tax food that is bad for you. Heavily. Make larger size clothes more expensive. Make sure that the healthcare premiums for obese people is more expensive. Maybe 'punishing' them will work.
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Old 12-27-2004, 12:23 AM
CutiePie2000 CutiePie2000 is offline
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I blame the parents, for the most part. If parents set the example of being sedentary and eating high-fat, bad for you food, the kids will follow. Ditto with lazy activities like XBOX and PlayStation...kids should be swimming, riding their bikes, playing road-hockey, whatever, just doing SOMETHING.

I could go on and on, but I'll just end up saying something impolite and politically incorrect, so I'll just stop there.

Last edited by CutiePie2000; 12-27-2004 at 06:31 AM.
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Old 12-27-2004, 01:12 AM
PhoenixAzul PhoenixAzul is offline
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as someone who is overweight and has been much more overweight than I am now (recently lost 20 lbs), it kills me when people come up with "simple" solutions to weight loss. "Why don't you just ride a bike?" "Just get off your ass and do something" "Just stop eating" "They don't have self control" "They don't want to lose weight". People oversimplify and it comes off as ridicule. No one WANTS to be called fat. Being fat in high school was TORTURE! I know what it is like to be called fatty, thunderthighs, earthquake, blubber, etc. And while people simplify that by saying "that should make you want to get in shape"- it doesn't. It makes you want to hide away from the world and not come out.

Meh, it's a sore spot for me. I want to seriously hit any girl who thinks that a size 6 and up is "plus sized". Bullshit. I get so mad I get tears in my eyes when I hear a girl a size 0 saying "I need to lose weight wah wah wah".

What I think is that we need to teach our kids that it is NOT OK to make fun of kids who are overweight. No matter what you think you're not doing them any favors. It's not OK to make fun of anyones appearance, PERIOD.

< /rant>
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Old 12-27-2004, 01:20 AM
aphibeach aphibeach is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by CutiePie2000
I blame the parents, for the most part. If parents set the example of being sedentary and eating high-fat, bad for you food, the kids will follow. Ditto with lazy activities like XBOX and PlayStation...kids should be swimming, riding their bikes, playing road-hockey, whatever, just doing SOMETHING.

I could go on and on, but I'll just end up saying something inpolite and politically incorrect, so I'll just stop there.
i completely agree. i graduated with a Sociology degree and i spent most of my major studying obesity and doing research on it. it starts with parents.....normally it's a cycle. the parent is obese and is an emotional eater and it slowly is passed down to the child. i live in the south where obesity is very prevalent. it's amazing walking through the mall seeing all the little kids running around with guts.
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Old 12-27-2004, 02:36 AM
DGqueen17 DGqueen17 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by CutiePie2000
I blame the parents, for the most part. If parents set the example of being sedentary and eating high-fat, bad for you food, the kids will follow. Ditto with lazy activities like XBOX and PlayStation...kids should be swimming, riding their bikes, playing road-hockey, whatever, just doing SOMETHING.

I could go on and on, but I'll just end up saying something inpolite and politically incorrect, so I'll just stop there.
I don't agree at all. My aunt is the biggest health nut. She does nothing but workout and practically lives outdoors, however both her children are overweight. She doesn't buy junk food so they buy it themselves. No matter what she does, they will not be active. And it's not as if she can FORCE a 14 and a 16 year old to go play outside. Some people are just lazy. She tries to encourage them but they just won't listen to her. Apparently they are choosing this lifestyle and I don't think there is anything else she could do and it certainly isn't her fault.

However, I personally think that some parents can be too harsh. For example, my mom is tiny. When I was in high school I was around a size 8/10, She was on my ass constantly about being too fat. I was on dance team, gymnastics, softball.....I was very active so it's not as if I was sitting around eating all day. Right now I'm a size 4, sometimes a 6 and she still gives me shit.

I think parents of overweight children need to be extra sensitive. Their kids probably get teased all the time and they don't need a lecture at home too. I think it's more important for a parent to build up their child's self esteem. Chances are if they do that the kid will want to lose weight.

Also, Coramore......I think bigger clothes do cost more. I went into a plus size store (Lane Bryant maybe?) with my cousin and they stuff there wasn't cheap at all.
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Old 12-27-2004, 03:59 AM
wanderersarah wanderersarah is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Coramoor
I think we should follow the lead of some European countries in this. Tax food that is bad for you. Heavily. Make larger size clothes more expensive. Make sure that the healthcare premiums for obese people is more expensive. Maybe 'punishing' them will work.
Health care premiums *are* higher for obese people and clothing for large folks is already more expensive.

I don't think that any of these ideas will help in decrease obesity in the US, on any large scale. It's all about changing lifestyle. Promoting healthy eating, adjusting portion size, and discouraging sedentary lifestyles are ways to curb obesity.

I think that this school has the potential to really help its students, the student are being taught how to change their lifestyle, how to incorporate physical activity into their day and healthy eating habits.
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Old 12-27-2004, 06:27 AM
CutiePie2000 CutiePie2000 is offline
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Originally posted by DGqueen17
And it's not as if she can FORCE a 14 and a 16 year old to go play outside.
I think it's best if healthy habits are ingrained from the "beginning" like putting kids in soccer at age 5, or swimming, baseball, t-ball...anything. If a kid has not done sports, I think expecting them to start at age 14 or 16 is way too late.

I'll tell you this: as a child, my parents took us hiking on the weekends. It was a good way for us to bond as a family, get some fresh air and exercise and enjoy the outdoors. The same can be done with a walk in the park or at the beach (or whatever "nature" is near where you live). My point is, parents need to start early. My nephew is 16 mos. and he is on x-country skiis already. He probably skiis for about 1/2 an hour and when he's pooped, he goes in the little backpack carrier and sleeps.

And as for overly obsessive health-nut relatives, everything in MODERATION. Yeah, we were taken hiking, but we always got a "treat" on the way home, like stopping for ice-cream on the drive back or what have you. And my parents ALWAYS made sure that we were home in time for the Wonderful World of Disney.

And by the way, I wear a size 10-12, so no, I am not a stick.

Last edited by CutiePie2000; 12-27-2004 at 06:32 AM.
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Old 12-27-2004, 11:01 AM
ShyViolet ShyViolet is offline
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I co-sign Cutiepie2000's post on physical activity needing to start early.

I think most of the problem stems from the parents, which in turn stems from society. It's this ingrained "instant gratification" society that is at the root of the issue. People want things now: fast food, convenience stores, TV, video games, etc. And in exchange for rapid service and bigger quantity, society gets lesser quality, of food and life, which affects it as a whole.

Yes, there are other uncontrollable factors involved, including genetics, but if you know you're predisposed to something, be proactive about it! Obesity is a disease, why should it be treated any differently from any other genetically influenced disease? We as a society know the risk factors, why aren't precautions taken? I don't understand how parents who were overweight themselves as children can raise their children in the same way and perpetuate a cycle that they know is both unhealthy and emotionally damaging.

Our bodies were not made to sit in front of a TV all day, drinking Coke and eating crisps, rather (in an evolutionary sense), we were made for work. But now that culture has gone past the point where we had to physically exert ourselves to get food, we haven't kept up with what our bodies need.

My parents started me off early. I was in ballet by the time I was 3 years old, and had been running around and swimming before that. I didn't get to watch too much TV, and there was never any junk food around the house. I didn't have pizza until I was 15, by the way. (I know my case is a little extreme). But I was healthy, and happy and the good diet and exercise equalled positive self-esteem for me. I'm about average sized, by the way (size 6-8), a little smaller during heavy dancing periods.

To sum up my oratorical fireworks, I think it's up to the parents to make the change. It has to be drastic, and it has to be permanent, because if they leave it up to someone at a school or camp, when the kid comes back home, they're just going to slip back into old habits, because it's comfortable.

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Old 12-27-2004, 11:42 AM
PM_Mama00 PM_Mama00 is offline
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I sort of agree with people when they say it starts with the parents and how the child is raised. But that's not always the case.

I was a chubby kid growing up, and I never ate that much. Actually, when I was a newborn my mom had to get the doctor to give me medicine to actually GET me to eat. Each year I gained 10 lbs. I started playing tennis at 8 years old and continued it till senior year of high school. I was always active. In high school I tried tons of diets and nothing worked... always gained the 10 lbs a year. I just thought that the diets weren't working so I gave up. I always had tests done to see if it was thyroid or whatever, and I always came out as a perfectly healthy girl, except being overweight.

Finally this past year we heard about Insulin Resistance. We had my insulin checked and it was almost as high as a diabetics. I've had to change alot of what I've been doing, and it's working.

So, it's not always a matter of what the parents are doing, or the child being lazy, or any of these things. Mine ended up being hereditary, but we never found out until I was 23.

Coramoor--- plus sized clothing IS already expensive. I have two clothing places that I shop, and at each place I can get an outfit for about $100, and these aren't name brands. Is it fair to punish people who are overweight due to genetics? For something that they couldn't help?

PhoenixAzul--- you're totally right about the torture part. Picking on overweight children only makes the matter worse. It emotionally scars them, makes them depressed, which makes them have lower self-esteem and self-motivation to get up and be energetic.

I think as much as parents need to teach their children proper lifestyles, they also need to teach their children how to respect other people. I think this school is a good idea, because until the name-calling and humiliation ends, it's a great idea to put the child in a comfortable environment to help them work towards their goal.
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Old 12-27-2004, 12:01 PM
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Originally posted by wanderersarah
Health care premiums *are* higher for obese people and clothing for large folks is already more expensive.

I don't think that any of these ideas will help in decrease obesity in the US, on any large scale. It's all about changing lifestyle. Promoting healthy eating, adjusting portion size, and discouraging sedentary lifestyles are ways to curb obesity.

I think that this school has the potential to really help its students, the student are being taught how to change their lifestyle, how to incorporate physical activity into their day and healthy eating habits.
I think the school has good intentions and I hope they teach these kids how to properly take care of their bodies. In my family, there is a long history of heart disease and diabetes. No one is totally obese, but there is alot of different diseases due to being overweight. My father totally changed his life and his body around, and it affected him tremendously.

He's about 6'1" and for most of my life, he weighed somewhere along the range of 250-295 pounds. I dont know what it was, but he made a commitment to himself to lose weight and help his body. He now weighs 180 pounds and couldnt look or feel better. He watches what he eats, but indulges everynow and then. He reguarly goes to the neighborhood organic food store, lifts weights, and his doctor is absolutely stunned at his health's complete turnaround. From then on, he's put a considerable (sometimes annoying haha) focus on the health of our family, because the benefits are real and the tragedy of dying prematurely (also happened in my family) is real.

I think there are alot of myths that this nation as a whole buy into. I think one really misleading one (that my mom buys into) is that even if someone is overweight, they can be totally fit and healthy. Now, everyone is different and there are exceptions to this rule. However, somewhere along the way, people sugarcoated how dangerous to your health it is to be really overweight and to not exercise.
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Old 12-27-2004, 12:56 PM
Lady Pi Phi Lady Pi Phi is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by carol9a
...I think one really misleading one (that my mom buys into) is that even if someone is overweight, they can be totally fit and healthy. Now, everyone is different and there are exceptions to this rule. However, somewhere along the way, people sugarcoated how dangerous to your health it is to be really overweight and to not exercise.
I don't really think that's a myth. One can be on the heavier side, but still be healthy. It all depends on their lifestyle. If they exercise and eat reasonably well being a little over weight probably won't kill them.

Now you can't really say that to the person who weighs 300 pounds and sits in front of the TV eating chips all day. If you do, you're being stupid and if that person believes you they are being stupid as well.
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Old 12-27-2004, 01:19 PM
RedRoseSAI RedRoseSAI is offline
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Originally posted by wanderersarah
I don't think that any of these ideas will help in decrease obesity in the US, on any large scale. It's all about changing lifestyle. Promoting healthy eating, adjusting portion size, and discouraging sedentary lifestyles are ways to curb obesity
Yes, yes, yes! Portion size is out of control in this country, as is the amount of "fake foods" we eat. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on a loaf of bread (not bread from a bakery, but bread from the "bread aisle" in the grocery store)? It's truly horrifying what we ingest. I make a conscious effort to stay away from anything with a lot of chemicals and I control my portion size.

The French are a great example of this. They eat rich food (including bread!) and drink alcohol but everything is done in moderation. There is a vast amount of information out there about living the French lifestyle in America. It can be challenging due to our more casual lifestyle, big portions, and use of chemicals, but it works for the devotees. Anne Barone's books are a good place to start, if you want to learn more about it.
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Old 12-27-2004, 04:32 PM
CutiePie2000 CutiePie2000 is offline
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I have to tag onto the French part being about portion control. My friend's Mom is from France and when it comes to cheese (which you typically eat at the end of the meal), you are to eat 2 pieces at most. To take more than that insults the host (it implies that you didn't eat enough of the actual meal, because you didn't like it; therefore you are still hungry). Portion control is what it is all about. Also, in France, they tend to walk a lot more. (Even to take the subway, you have to climb those MOFO stairs!)

As for being fat and fit, I did see a few "overweight" people FINISH the Ironman Triathlon in Penticton. They were what I would classify as a bit chubby, but certainly not obese.
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