A Camp for Healthier Families
Overweight children and adults will be offered an opportunity to attend programs that teach a healthy lifestyle. The line-up will consist of three-week summer camps and after-school activities for children, as well as weekend retreats throughout the year for adults. Parents of children under the age of 18 will be required to stay on campus each weekend during summer sessions for their own “boot camp.” In this way, entire families will know what changes to implement to live a healthy lifestyle.
Everyone who volunteers with Give Obesity the Boot, Inc., is committed to teaching children and adults proper nutrition, exercise and self-confidence, regardless of the time spent.
This project is the brain child of Angie Flores, an advocate for those who suffer from obesity; she once weighed 310 pounds and has a full understanding of living obese as a child and an adult. Angie has been featured on many shows on The Learning Channel (TLC) and Discovery Health, such as Half Ton Mom, Half Ton Dad and Obese at 16: a Life in the Balance. Obese at 16: a Life in the Balance is the story of a teenage boy who was morbidly obese, and required weight loss surgery to attain a healthy life. As these programs air to this day, Angie receives hundreds of telephone calls, e-mails and letters from others crying out for help. It’s through these programs that Angie has been able to help thousands of people lose weight through traditional and surgical means. Because there are thousands more she hasn’t been able to help, Angie founded Give Obesity the Boot, Inc. A program is designed to teach not just the individual, but the entire family to live a healthier lifestyle. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States today. Angie believes healthy children today lead to healthier adults tomorrow.
Families and individuals will learn healthy eating, physical activity and shopping healthy, after enrolling themselves or being referred by a health care professional. Many parents of obese or overweight children don’t realize their children are above a healthy weight range for their height and age. All too often, parents will refer to their child’s weight as “baby fat” that will disappear as the child grows older. However, overweight and obesity in a child is a serious condition. These children suffer physically and emotionally, leading to much larger health problems. Alarming is the number of children that are already being diagnosed daily with adult disorders such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease and more. Caring for an overweight or obese child can be especially difficult for the families involved, thus the need for parents to attend the parent weekend boot camp. Parents will learn how to not only make healthy choices for their families, but the tools needed to help their children regain self-esteem and confidence. Children who lack self-confidence can become depressed because of their size and limitations to childhood activities.
These programs are designed to help and change the way the family thinks about food and exercise. Even more important, individuals and families meet others who are in a similar position with whom they will form their own supportive network and lifelong friendship.
Professionals will be on campus to help build lifelong behavioral changes. Follow-up sessions and telephone support will be available to those who attend.