Wellspring Academies (formerly Academy of the Sierras) was a pair of therapeutic boarding schools for overweight and obese children, teens, and young adults, both operated by Wellspring, a division of Aspen Education Group. It is said to be the first weight loss boarding school in the United States. [1] [2]
As of September 2009 Wellspring Academies had two campuses.
The Academy of the Sierras was founded in California 2004 by Ryan D. Craig, who also served as the school's first executive director. [5] Aspen invested $6.5 million in the start-up. [6] The school's second location in North Carolina was established in 2007. [5]
Wellspring's focus was on living a healthy lifestyle, with long-term success of its participants presented at international scientific conferences on obesity. Wellspring claimed that its program, founded on decades of scientific research in obesity, had among "the best documented outcomes of any non-surgical weight loss intervention for any age group.". [7]
Admissions were ongoing throughout the year, with a minimum 4-month stay. Incoming students for the fall semester had the option to participate in a multi-week wilderness program conducted in a location near the campus. [1]
Wellspring Academies utilized an integrated approach to fitness and weight loss. Once in the regular program, participants learned diet and activity management, with culinary, nutrition, fitness and aerobic training to enable participants to learn lifelong skills. Students ate three low-fat meals and two snacks daily, totaling only about 1,300 calories and less than 12 grams of fat per day. Extensive daily physical activity, including walking or running at least 10,000 steps per day, was also required. [2] Behavioral changes were reinforced with cognitive behavioral therapy, training students on the self-regulatory behaviors required for long-term weight control. This included use of a Self-Monitoring Journal to record everything a student eats throughout the day. According to weight-loss researchers, the self-monitoring technique was a key component of long-term weight loss success. [8] [9] In addition, students met with a "behavioral coach" three times per week to reinforce the training, improve frustration tolerance and stress management skills, and work through the issues that are typically contributing to the weight gain, like emotional eating or resorting to food as an unhealthy coping mechanism. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was central to the Wellspring program as it had been shown in numerous studies to reinforce key self-regulatory skills (such as self-monitoring) and had favorable short and long-term effects on weight loss [10]
Students continued their education while they worked to lose weight. Wellspring Academy of California, with an academic curriculum accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, [11] included grades 8 – 12, with a college program available through an affiliation with Reedley College. Wellspring Academy of the Carolinas offered an academic program accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [12] for grades 7 – 12.
Curriculum at both Academies included core classes such as English, math, history, and science, as well as fitness, nutrition, and culinary courses that reinforce skills for weight loss. Electives such as foreign languages, theater, and horticulture were also available and varied by Academy and semester.
Wellspring Academies claimed that students lost more than 3 pounds (1.4 kg) per week and maintained this weight loss, on average. [7]
Some experts, such as Anjali Jain, a pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center, questioned the expense and necessity of boarding school, pointing out that participants had not been followed long enough after leaving the program to evaluate the long-term results. [6]
Recent long-term results were presented at The Obesity Society 2008 Annual Meeting. [13]
Wellspring also offered Wellspring camps for summer weight loss in locations which included New York, North Carolina, Florida, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Vancouver, Canada, and England. [14] and after-school programs for fitness and weight loss [15]
All Wellspring Academy campuses along with all Weight Loss Camps in the U.S., Canada and the UK closed permanently in January 2014 due to the economic downturn, the lack of insurance coverage availability and the inability of families to pay for the treatment program.
In 2015 one for the former directors of the California facility opened up a similar program in Arizona for girls only entitled Gem Academy. Plans are in the works to develop an equivalent boys-only academy as soon as space, funding and staffing can be secured. [16]
The fat acceptance movement is a social movement which seeks to eliminate the social stigma of obesity. Areas of contention include the aesthetic, legal, and medical approaches to fat people.
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's weight divided by the square of the person's height—is over 30 kg/m2; the range 25–30 kg/m2 is defined as overweight. Some East Asian countries use lower values to calculate obesity. Obesity is a major cause of disability and is correlated with various diseases and conditions, particularly cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat, or lean mass. Weight loss can either occur unintentionally because of malnourishment or an underlying disease, or from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state. "Unexplained" weight loss that is not caused by reduction in calorific intake or increase in exercise is called cachexia and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition.
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.
A fat camp, weight loss camp, or fat farm is a type of residential program where people who are overweight or obese go to attempt to lose weight through exercise and lifestyle changes.
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used when discussing childhood obesity, as it is less stigmatizing, although the term overweight can also refer to a different BMI category. The prevalence of childhood obesity is known to differ by sex and gender.
Health at Every Size (HAES) is a public health framework that emphasizes all bodies have the right to seek out health, regardless of size, without bias, and reduce stigma towards people who are in larger bodies. Proponents argue that traditional interventions focused on weight loss, such as dieting, do not reliably produce positive health outcomes, and that health is a result of lifestyle behaviors that can be performed independently of body weight. However, many criticize the approach and argue that weight loss should sometimes be an explicit goal of healthcare interventions, because of the negative health outcomes associated with obesity.
Fat feminism, often associated with "body-positivity", is a social movement that incorporates feminist themes of equality, social justice, and cultural analysis based on the weight of a woman. This branch of feminism intersects misogyny and sexism with anti-fat bias. Fat feminists advocate body-positive acceptance for all bodies, regardless of their weight, as well as eliminating biases experienced directly or indirectly by fat people. Fat feminists originated during third-wave feminism and is aligned with the fat acceptance movement. A significant portion of body positivity in the third-wave focused on embracing and reclaiming femininity, such as wearing makeup and high heels, even though the second-wave fought against these things. Contemporary western fat feminism works to dismantle oppressive power structures which disproportionately affect working class poor people or poor people generally. It covers a wide range of topics such as diet culture, fat-phobia, representation in media, ableism, and employment discrimination.
Aspen Education Group is an American company that provides controversial therapeutic interventions for adolescents and young adults, including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and weight loss programs, which have been accused of torture and abuse. Since November 2006, Aspen Education Group, with corporate offices located in Cerritos, California has been a division of Bain Capital's CRC Health.
The Trim and Fit programme was a weight loss programme that targeted child obesity in Singapore schools between 1992 and 2007. Introduced by the Ministry of Education, schoolchildren under the programme were educated on nutrition, calorie control, and participated in intense physical exercise and activities.
Obesity is common in the United States and is a major health issue associated with numerous diseases, specifically an increased risk of certain types of cancer, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, as well as significant increases in early mortality and economic costs.
Wellspring Camps were a group of children's weight loss camps located in La Jolla, California, and Melbourne, Florida. The camps focused on changing behavior and eating patterns to create long-term healthy lifestyles for participants. Wellspring Camps are not currently operating.
Obesity in Germany has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent years. The federal government has declared this to be a major issue.
Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa is a notable health issue. Out of the fifteen fattest nations in the world as of 2014, 5 were located in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Management of obesity can include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. Although many studies have sought effective interventions, there is currently no evidence-based, well-defined, and efficient intervention to prevent obesity.
Social stigma of obesity is broadly defined as bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at overweight and obese individuals because of their weight and a high body fat percentage. Such social stigmas can span one's entire life, as long as excess weight is present, starting from a young age and lasting into adulthood. Studies also indicate overweight and obese individuals experience higher levels of stigma compared to other people.
Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back is an American reality television series on Style. The series debuted on August 9, 2010. The second season premiered on March 7, 2011. The mid-season finale aired on April 25, 2011. The second half of season 2 premiered on October 19, 2011.
Obesity and the environment aims to look at the different environmental factors that researchers worldwide have determined cause and perpetuate obesity. Obesity is a condition in which a person's weight is higher than what is considered healthy for their height, and is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Obesity can result from several factors such as poor nutritional choices, overeating, genetics, culture, and metabolism. Many diseases and health complications are associated with obesity. Worldwide, the rates of obesity have nearly tripled since 1975, leading health professionals to label the condition as a modern epidemic in most parts of the world. Current worldwide population estimates of obese adults are near 13%; overweight adults total approximately 39%.
Obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat and is predominantly caused when there is an energy imbalance between calorie consumption and calorie expenditure. Childhood obesity is becoming an increasing concern worldwide, and Australia alone recognizes that 1 in 4 children are either overweight or obese.
Christian diet programs are books and other name-brand products promoting weight-loss diets and other diets that the authors believe are consistent with Christian rules and values. They may borrow elements from Jewish dietary laws, the Bible, modern nutrition science, or other sources. Christian diet and exercise programs became popular in the 1970s. They differ from historical, non-commercial Christian dietary traditions, such as not eating meat on Fridays.