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

Wellspring, Academy of the Sierras, Aspen

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Anonymous:
Anyone have a different experience than this?

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/7/emw417730.htm

New Studies Reveal Weight Loss Academies for Kids are Achieving Unprecedented Results in Fighting Childhood Obesity
 
Aspen Education Group?s overweight students and campers lose weight -- and keep it off -- even after returning home.

Cerritos, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2006 -- Some students lost almost half their body weight during a six-month stint at Aspen Education Group?s Healthy Living Academies? weight loss programs. But could they keep it off after leaving the structured and rigorously health-focused academies? According to results of follow-up studies with students who completed the Healthy Living Academies weight loss programs in 2005, the answer is a resounding ?yes!?

The studies followed the weight loss results of students attending the Academy of the Sierras weight loss boarding school and Wellspring Camps. The first class of students who attended Academy of the Sierras in Reedley, CA for at least six months lost an average of 81 lbs. during the program, and had successfully maintained their entire weight loss at the 10-month follow-up interval. In a separate study, 212 campers who attended Wellspring Camps for at least four weeks not only maintained their average weight loss of 21 lbs. for six to nine months after returning home from camp, but had lost an additional five lbs. at the six- to nine-month follow-up interval.

?These results are unprecedented in the history of weight loss research,? says Dr. Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, a professor at Northwestern University Medical School and Clinical Director of Healthy Living Academies programs. ?The scientific community has never seen weight loss programs consistently produce such rapid and sizeable weight losses that were so well tolerated and maintained over time. The 80-pound average weight loss at the Academy of the Sierras is unparalleled, with the possible exception of far more risky bariatric surgeries.?

Dr. Kirschenbaum added that these results were consistent with 2004 findings from Wellspring Camps. ?In 2004, we studied 79 campers who lost an average of 17 lbs. and found that six to nine months later, they had lost an additional 7.4 lbs.?

The results at Academy of the Sierras (AOS) can be attributed to a strong program based in the science of weight loss and cognitive-behavioral therapy, according to AOS Executive Director Phil Obbard. ?Students who remain for an extended period of time in a structured, healthy environment that supports good nutrition and daily activity routinely show dramatic improvements in self-esteem, mood and outlook. The fact that students maintained weight losses is a testament to their growth and overall emotional well-being.?

?These weight loss results demonstrate that there is hope for many of today?s overweight and obese children,? said Elliot Sainer, CEO of Aspen Education Group. ?With nearly one-third of American children overweight or obese, parents must give their kids the opportunity to learn new skills and behaviors that will lead to long and healthy lives.?

Unlike existing ?diet camps,? Healthy Living Academies? programs were designed by leading researchers using current scientific understanding of the most effective approaches to safe weight loss and permanent behavioral and lifestyle changes. Academy of the Sierras and Wellspring Camps provide behavioral training, such as self- monitoring and goal-setting, for successful long-term weight control, and employ master?s- and doctoral-level therapists to provide cognitive-behavioral therapy that helps campers stay committed to permanent lifestyle change. They also focus on family involvement and have a unique Internet-based ?after-care? program.

Healthy Living Academies operates residential schools and summer programs addressing America?s crisis of pediatric and adolescent obesity. Healthy Living Academies programs include Academy of the Sierras in California, a new campus opening in North Carolina in 2006, Wellspring New York, Wellspring Adventure Camp, Wellspring Adventure Camp California, Wellspring Family Camp, and Wellspring United Kingdom. To learn more about Academy of the Sierras, Wellspring Camps or Healthy Living Academies, visit www.healthylivingacademies.com or call 866-364-0808.

Healthy Living Academies is a division of Aspen Education Group, the nation?s leading provider of education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. With over 30 programs in 12 states and the United Kingdom, Aspen provides to students and families a comprehensive range of therapeutic interventions, including boarding schools, residential treatment and wilderness therapy. For more information, visit www.aspeneducation.com or call 888-972-7736.

Anonymous:
Not everyone is so enamored with this program.

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2 ... obese.html

Extreme Low-Fat Farm Abusing Obese Kids

The Academy of the Sierras youth diet plan is lacking adequate fat

I was alerted to something quite disturbing today to say the least by my calorie-restriction friend April who told me about a California-based youth "fat farm" called Academy of the Sierras where overweight and obese children are being subject to an extreme low-fat diet consisting of nearly single-digit fat intake daily!

What is most incredible is the diet they have these kids eating is robbing them of some of the essential nutrients their bodies need for them to continue to grow into the healthy adults they are becoming. While they are getting 70g protein and 20g fiber, they are ONLY being fed a measly 10g fat. JUST TEN GRAMS! That's all they get daily. Yikes! They get to eat all the soups, salads, fat-free (and HIGH sugar, by the way) yogurt, fruits and vegetables as part of this wonder diet plan. The leaders of this program claim the kids won't get hungry eating this way.

Well, I guess they don't get as hungry with all of that protein they are eating. But what about the healthy fats these kids NEED for a healthy body and improved overall health? Even the American Heart Association FINALLY admitted this year that proper fat intake is important. Studies have shown eating fat improves mental health. Are these people at the Academy of the Sierras even concerned about the damage they are causing to the developing brains of these children they have been given control over? Helllllloooo?

You would think with the results of a landmark 8-year study on low-fat diets earlier this year showing them to be the big fat lie that people who are livin' la vida low-carb knew them to be would end this madness about being afraid of eating fat as part of a healthy weight loss program. This all-too-obvious fact has apparently left the good folks at the Academy of the Sierras as they continue to live in the past with their dietary recommendations centered around the archaic teachings of Dr. Dean Ornish!

But isn't it borderline child abuse what the leaders of this program are doing to these poor kids? With new research PROVING the theories they are using to induce weight loss in these children -- namely an extreme low-fat diet -- is false, then why would they still insist on using these tactics when there are much better ways to bring about the same results in a healthier manner? They wouldn't need to change their program radically to make it just as effective for weight loss AND be more nutrient-dense.

They could still have the kids eat 70g protein and 20g fiber, but have them instead begin to limit the carbohydrates to 20g daily while allowing 30-40g fat MINIMUM daily and having them avoid sugar, white flour, starchy veggies and processed foods. Why wouldn't this work better for the kids and give them a more palatable menu to eat from?

Wanna see just a sampling of what these kids have to eat now:

low-fat pizza
very lean ground turkey tacos (EWWWW!)
fat free bean burritos
veggie egg white omelettes (where are the yolks?!)
oil-free Asian stir fries
innovative pastas (what the heck is that?!)
spice apple raisin pancakes
bagels with fat-free cream cheese
Berries (the best item on this menu!)
melon wedges
fat-free yogurt
Boca burgers (mmm, mmm Boca--NOT!)
sandwich bar with very lean ham and turkey
Mexican pizza
fat-free soups
fruit salad (can you say sugar?!)
honey chicken
veggie stir-fry
?spinach baked? potatoes (say who what is THAT?!)
frozen yogurt
salad bar with fat-free dressings
carrot sticks
fat-free potato chips with salsa (yucky poo!)
oatmeal raisin bars

Can you tell me what most of those foods contains gobs and gobs of? That's right, CARBOHYDRATES!!! Jeepers creepers people, let's just send the blood sugar of these kids into overdrive now with what we're feeding them. Sheeeeez! I remember eating an obsessively low-fat diet before and it's not fun at all. If my experience is any indication of what is going to happen to these kids when they get back home, then it would not surprise me to hear that most if not all of them rebel at their new way of eating and gain back every single pound they worked so hard to lose. I don't wish that on them, but it is almost inevitable with a low-fat diet as extreme as this one is.

You can express your concerns about this dangerous and abusive weight loss program for these adolescents by e-mailing them directly. You can address your e-mail to Phil Obbard who is the Executive Director for the Academy of the Sierras. Ask him to specifically answer your concerns about the lack of good fats in the diets these kids are being put on and let me know if you hear back from him or another representative. This blatant abuse by the Academy of the Sierra MUST be stopped immediately!"

My other Internet research also indicated that the first three items on the food list above can only be eaten by kids who have earned it (not sure how - through good behavior, high weight loss, whatever).

Deborah:
Uh, another example of "do the means justify the end"?
People just want to see "results", doesn't matter how you get there, even if it involves abuse or neglect.
I've read research that discourages people from eating "low fat" anything. The fat in dairy products is necessary to metabolyzing it. One should just stick with whole fat products and limit their consumption.
The diet looks very high in sodium to me.

Oz girl:
Im not infavour of sending any kid away to a fat farm, or a boarding school that deals with obesity, but 10 grams of fat per day sounds like plenty. The foods listed all by the original poster sound ok too. I would be more concerned about a family being encouraged to send the overweight kid into some isolating school. To me it sends the message that once again the kid is overweight due to their own actions only instead of treating it asa family issue.

Deborah:
Some students may be put on Optifast, a liquid diet meal plan, or Meridia, a prescription appetite suppressant, to speed up weight loss.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:8GZ7 ... lnk&cd=101

Novartis's Optifast program is only available at hospitals and health care clinics. Weight reduction typically averages 2-5 pounds a week. Costs $200-$300 a month.

Meridia works on brain chemicals to reduce appetite.
Side effects:
http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/meridia/effects.html
For only 15# per year?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/ ... 2256.shtml
Study funded by Abbott Labs  :roll:
http://www.mercy.net/healthinfo/archive/060719.asp

And of course, if they aren't working their program they will be sent to ASGs Lone Star Expedition.

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