A weight loss camp, also known as a weight loss resort, retreat, or holiday, is a type of residential program where people who are overweight or obese go to lose weight through exercise and lifestyle changes. In common parlance the term "fat camp" is also often used (either humorously or with intended harm) to refer to these programs. Weight loss camps typically provide nutrition classes, weekly weigh-ins, and a variety of classes and activities designed for weight loss.
The goal of the camps is to enhance the health of the campers, raise their self-confidence and self-image, as well as teach them healthy life skills and choices. These camps provide weight-loss results of two to five pounds per week on average. However the more overweight the camper, the more they generally lose in these programs. The effectiveness of these summer camps varies widely and usually depends on the quality of the individual program and biochemistry of the attending campers.
Newer programs not only focus on weight loss, but also on changing behavior through a combination of training on self-regulatory behaviors and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to ensure that weight loss persists long after campers return home. Most experts believe these are key elements of an effective program.
A number of weight loss camps are currently in operation in the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe. These camps vary greatly in terms of the methods used and outcomes (both long-term and short-term) experienced by campers. Some attendees experience long-term changes in health and physical fitness, while others gradually or immediately go back to overeating. One of the main determining factors appears to be support from other family members and friends.
In an effort to help maintain post-camp weight loss, some camps now offer more one-on-one training as a way to educate and motivate long-term success.
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—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)
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“Usually the scenery about them is drear and savage enough; and the logger’s camp is as completely in the woods as a fungus at the foot of a pine in a swamp; no outlook but to the sky overhead; no more clearing than is made by cutting down the trees of which it is built, and those which are necessary for fuel.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)