Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group

Aspen in the Youth Weight Loss Business

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Anonymous:
http://strugglingteens.com/news/aeg-chg ... erras.html

Anonymous:
Oh, great.

So if Mom is model-skinny and daughter inherited the wrong set of genes, daughter loses her home and family because she's too fat for mommy's ego.

So it's not just the kids at school picking on "the fat kid," now she gets kicked out of the house and into hell for it, too.

 :flame:  :flame:  :flame:

Gee, ever consider enrolling the kid in dance, martial arts, little league, taking her roller skating, taking her hiking or caving, getting her started in marching band or jazzercise?  Getting out and going bicycling with her?  Getting a membership at the Y and taking her swimming several times a week (*excellent* if the big exercise problem is thigh rash)

If she's just got the wrong set of genes, she won't get skinny, but it'll be great for her health---while spending time *with* her family.

Work out *with* your kid three times a week--gently but firmly insisting, but being totally positive in the social interaction of the workout--and even if she's still obese, at least she'll have the cardio fitness to carry it, and the endorphins not to succumb to despair over it.

Not to mention knowing you love her because you spend time with her and are *positive* and *affirming* when you do it.

Fat kids don't need to be kicked out of their house into Frankenstein's castle fat farms.

Fat kids need their parents to spend time with them positively, empathetically, firmly, *sharing* their workout.

Unless, of course, the kid has a genuine love for some physical activity she can do with peers----swim team, marching band, dance.

My kid's dance studio always had a few overweight students.  They didn't turn into skinny minnies, but they toned up, they got their cardio fitness up to where they were keeping up with the other girls.  They were a hell of a lot healthier than they would have been without dance.

They enjoyed the classes and kept coming back because dance wasn't based on what they shouldn't be or couldn't do---it showed them what they *could* do, and helped them do more.

Sure, kick the embarrassing fat kid out of the house so she won't embarrass Mom and Dad on the cocktail party circuit.

Grrrr.

 :flame:  :flame:  :flame:

Timoclea

Deborah:
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/ovfit.HTM

Studies are showing that overweight men and women who exercise regularly live longer and are fitter than their sedentary peers of any weight. For example, a study conducted at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, which followed more than 25,000 men for an average of eight years, found that 1) fit fat men and fit thin men had similar death rates, 2) these death rates were lower than those of coach potatoes regardless of their body weight. The researchers concluded that, "although exercise may not make all people lean, it has important health benefits, even for those who remain overweight." Data from a major, long-term Harvard Alumni Study shows similar results. Also, Cooper Institute researchers as well as a large study of nurses have found that death rates for women were also lower in those who were fittest, regardless of body fat.

In addition, although excessive weight puts an extra burden on the back and legs -- which increases the risk of arthritis and low-back pain, being a bit overweight appears to provide some protection against some cancers and osteoporosis. Also, some research indicates that improvements in the most common obesity-related problems such as hypertension, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and diabetes can be achieved by lifestyle changes, including exercise, without weight loss.
********************

In addition, what program stresses reasonable exercise? The teens time outdoors and participation in group sporting events is severely curtailed in lieu of 'therapy'. If they exercise at all it's usually unreasonable- a punishment. Now, that's a way to set up an unhealthy relationship with exercise and fitness.
Many times outdoor time and exercise (fun exercise) are considered a 'privelege', not a right, and must be 'earned'.

Anonymous:
Deborah---exactly.

It's not overweight that's the health problem and the killer.

It's a sedentary lifestyle.

Overweight is just a *symptom* of a sedentary lifestyle.

Fix the sedentary lifestyle problem and you fix the health problem---or improve it, anyway---regardless of weight.

Also, I'd figure a nutritionally inadequate diet is one of the usual health problems.

A kid (or adult) who eats good quality, fresh, nutritious food until he/she is satisfied, doesn't yo-yo diet, and gets ample regular, responsible exercise----is going to be healthier than a kid who doesn't----of whatever weight.

That is, genetics and all that being basically equal (it never is, but for the sake of argument).

It's not weight that's doing the killing.  It's bad food and sedentary living.

Ever hear of a Program with *good* food?

Didn't think so.

Good food is much more expensive than bad food.  And that expense cuts into profit margins.

No matter what the parents pay the programs, the programs would much rather *keep* that money than spend it on the kids.

Fresh lean meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of them, whole grains, eggs, plenty of fish and dairy.

Good food, plenty of exercise, fresh air, and sunshine.

Plenty of love and positive attention from their parents.

Plenty of positive social stimulation and intellectual challenge.

The basics of good health are not rocket science.

Timoclea

Deborah:
The 5K/mo TBS my son attended was unregulated. He said the fruit looked like they picked it up off the back docks of a supermarket- rejects. There was no variety.
After I reported them to ORS they hired a catering company to handle meals. My son and others I've spoken to said it was a significant improvement. Salad bar everyday, options, and plenty to eat.
Then there is the issue of "restriction" diets. Limited calories and NO variety, eating on the curb outside the dining hall, a time limit to eat, punishment if you don't toss your plate when trash comes by, and the loss of a meal if you are caught talking.
Why would a facility have to be made to provide adequate nutrition? How can any facility deny or limit nutrition as punishment? That is not 'therapeutic' in any sense of the word. This goes beyond behavior modification into abuse and neglect.

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