Fat Camp Articles
Community-Based Fit Clubs Help Kids Lose Weight, Improve Fitness
By Hugh C. McBride
Log onto any news or political website these days, and it’s very likely that more than one featured story will address the effects of the global financial meltdown. Check out a health site, and it probably won’t be too long before you’re confronted with an article about the growing scourge of childhood obesity.
At one of the nation’s leading weight loss and fitness programs, neither of these issues has gone unnoticed – and a new effort is underway to help young people who are affected by both rising weight and a sinking economy.
Wellspring, which operates the nation’s largest network of summer camps for overweight young people and the world’s only therapeutic boarding schools for adolescents with weight problems, recently unveiled a community-based afterschool initiative for teenagers who might otherwise be unable to benefit from the program’s renowned fitness plan.
These outreach efforts, which are called Wellspring Fit Clubs, pair Wellspring experts with public or corporate partners to bring an effective fitness and weight loss program to young people in the communities where they live and attend school.
Creating Partnerships to Benefit Children
Featuring the same fitness instruction and nutritional education that have earned Wellspring’s summer camps and academies their reputations for excellence, the Fit Clubs bring small groups of kids (ideally no more than 10 per cohort) together for 16 weeks of afterschool guidance and training.
“The Fit Club concept grew out of a desire to provide our services to people who may not be able to afford the full Wellspring program,” said Eliza Kingsford, who leads Wellspring’s Fit Club effort. “We realize that there’s often a direct correlation between needing the services that Wellspring provides and being in a lower socioeconomic status, and we want to reach more people who can benefit from what we have to offer.”
To accomplish this goal, Ms. Kingsford said, Wellspring forms relationships with local organizations that can provide necessary elements and either defray or absorb the costs that in other instances would be passed along to the participants.
“We partner with someone in the community – a private funder, an afterschool association, a school, or a YMCA, for example – to be able to provide the Wellspring program at either a very minimal cost or at no cost for participants’ families,” she said. “Wellspring provides the therapeutic intervention, including a trained clinician onsite, the curriculum, and equipment such as pedometers and textbooks, and the community partner provides the physical fitness component, including the facility where the program will be conducted.”
Making a Difference in the Community
By establishing formal relationships with partnering organizations, Wellspring can provide expanded services in a focused manner that best meets the needs of the community.
“The community partner usually selects candidates who can benefit from what the Fit Clubs can offer, and then contacts the family to see if they would be willing to participate,” Ms. Kingsford said. “We don’t have a specific weight requirement for this program, which opens the Fit Clubs to a wider range of young people, but participants need to be between the ages of 10 and 18 and need to lose weight.”
Because the training and instruction provided by the Fit Clubs is done in a group setting, Wellspring works with the community partner to ensure that participants are as close in age as possible, Ms. Kingsford said. “We’re selective with the kids, because we want them to be as successful as possible,” she said. “We find that the kids do better when they’re working with others of the same age.”
Sixteen Weeks to Better Health
Once the participants have been selected and the site determined, the Fit Club kicks off with a parent orientation meeting to explain how the process will work and what the kids will be learning and doing.
“It’s important for people to know that they’re getting the entire Wellspring plan – the behavioral modification, the nutritional counseling, and the physical fitness counseling,” Ms. Kingsford said. “They get the traditional Wellspring course – it’s just in a different format than the full immersive format that we also offer.”
Regardless of where it is implemented, the Wellspring program is an intensive, comprehensive effort to help clients embrace simple, scientific, and sustainable diet and exercise principles that will allow them to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The primary difference between the Fit Clubs and Wellspring’s other programs (such as the weight loss boarding schools, summer camps, and adult weight loss retreats) is that the community-based programs feature round-the-clock supervision.
“There are some challenges without the full immersive model, but we really want to get our services to people who can benefit from our help, and we’re confident that the Fit Clubs can teach young people how to make positive changes that can benefit their health for the rest of their lives,” Ms. Kingsford said.
Once the program is underway, the Fit Club participants meet with their Wellspring behavioral coach at least twice a week, and they exercise under the supervision of the program’s physical fitness coordinator two to four times each week as well. All sessions are conducted after school hours at the site that was provided by the community partner.
Establishing a Foundation for Success
Just as the Fit Clubs are designed to give young people a successful starting point from which to pursue continued improvement, the program’s administrators hope to build upon the early successes that the first Fit Clubs have experienced.
“The Fit Club concept is still in its infancy, and we are continuing to find ways to improve the program, but we’re really happy with the results we’ve seen so far,” Ms. Kingsford said.
With three Fit Clubs already operational and two more about to open, Wellspring officials are eager to expand the program’s outreach and allow more young people to benefit from the time-tested techniques that have allowed thousands of teens to lose weight and achieve long-term health.
“If people in a community are interested in bringing a Fit Club to their area, we encourage them to get in touch with us so that we can form a partnership,” Ms. Kingsford said. “Fit Clubs are a great addition to a community or school district, and if anyone wants to partner with us, we’re eager to work with them.”
For more information about Wellspring Fit Clubs, or to learn how you or your organization can sponsor a Fit Club in your community, visit www.wellspringfitclubs.com or call (866) 364-0804.
