Are weight loss camps appropriate for children under 10?

No

7 of 10

by Jessica Stoltzfus

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For an overweight child under the age of ten, a fat camp is the worst thing for them. Depending on their exact age, they have not even had much of a chance to equalize their weight and height. They have not reached the stages of major growth spurts. Before a parent makes the decision to send their child, no matter what age, to a fat camp they need to take a good look at what they are eating. If they are eating healthy foods you also need to look at how much they are eating. It is also a good idea to take them for a check-up and have the doctor check for low metabolism levels and other things that could be causing them to be overweight.

Fat camps would also be bad for children of that age because it will hinder their socialization abilities and give them a poor level of self-esteem. They will not feel like you care enough about them to help them on your own. There could be underlying problems that is causing the weight issues. There a lot of things to consider before you subject you children to something like that. I may not have these problems with my children but I can look at the situation from any point of view.

If you have ever watched talk shows like Maury Povich in particular, he always has shows on with mothers bringing in their extremely overweight children and at least half of them are that way because their parents do not control the way they eat. I've even seen on that was I believe a two-year-old boy that weighed over 80 pounds. That too me is just insane and it was because his mother let him eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, like a bucket of fried chicken.

Before you subject your child to something like a fat camp that could be traumatic to them, do everything possible and only use that as your VERY last resort.

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