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Third Place
Liz O. Baylen The Washington Times
"LOST AT CAMP"
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"MEASURING IN"
After a long bus ride alone with fellow campers,
Margarita Fanelli, 7, of Philadelphia, PA, is corralled into a barn where she
and the rest of the campers are measured in on their first day of weight-loss
camp at Camp Shane.
Summary:
Emily Stanfield, 13, lost about 30 pounds last year
attending a summer weight-loss camp for kids in upstate New York. 'But I
gained it all back,' says Emily, who's returning for a third time this
summer. 'I get back home, and I get back into my old habits.' Weight-loss
camps are growing in popularity, according to the American Camp Association.
This growing popularity has been met with a 50 percent increase in the number
of weight-loss camps established just since last year. Experts estimate that
15% of kids are overweight and another 15% are at risk of being overweight.
Furthermore, it is estimated that two thirds of these overweight kids will
become overweight adults. The key to Camp Shane weight-loss camp is strict
portion control. Children, although admittedly hungry for the first couple of
days, learn to thrive on 1,600 calories a day, including 200 calories' worth
of snacks on top of a day packed with physical activity. 'I know that some
children have kept the weight off and others haven't,' says Camp Shane owner
David Ettenberg, 'but weight loss is just part of it. The camp is about so
much more. It's about feeling accepted, about having fun, about making
friends,' he continued. Despite the growing popularity of the camps, the
program itself and the success rate is highly debated. However, the children
keep coming back for more.
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