http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/142661672/school-transforms-teens-lives-one-pound-at-a-time

This is fucking amazing. I bet they're having trouble finding rich parent's of obese kids to fill up the school for $62k/year. I mean half the reason 30% of American kids are obese is due to bad parenting. So lets just get rid of our kids we've fucked over and fix their weight issues with money!

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 7:05 PM. Reason : fixed link]

12/13/2011 7:05:07 PM

also many kids that are obese come from lower class families who cannot supply food with enough protein and vitamins to feed their children.

12/13/2011 7:07:54 PM

or who aren't educated to know what they should be feeding their families

not necessarily a comment on the article, but adding to what ^ said because poor != low class

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 7:10 PM. Reason : ]

12/13/2011 7:09:42 PM

Exactly which is why I find this article fascinating. You'd think parents who can afford to send their kids to a boarding school like this would have both the means and education to feed them with a healthy diet.

12/13/2011 7:11:34 PM

I can understand going to the expense to send a severe case to such a boarding school. A teenager who is unmanageable -- going out and buying their own food, etc. However, you could easily hire a nutritionist, therapist, personal trainer, buy a gym membership, etc. for far less than 62K. AND insurance will cover part of the expense.

12/13/2011 7:33:55 PM

Or you could search Google for how to eat and exercise properly.

I think the big problem is the discipline to follow through though.

12/13/2011 7:37:55 PM

^

12/13/2011 7:42:50 PM

Quote :

"also many kids that are obese come from lower class families who cannot supply food with enough protein and vitamins to feed their children."

I don't buy it.

12/13/2011 10:05:34 PM

Healthy food is more expensive

You also have to cook it yourself, which single working parents struggle with.

12/13/2011 10:06:35 PM

it is not always more expensive. i'm sick of that excuse. unless you eat ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

12/13/2011 10:07:23 PM

^neither do I really. I tutor a lot of young kids, many obese and this is response the parents give whenever they address this.

however, I will say that TASTY healthy food can make it more expensive. Boiled chicken and brocollit with a little seasoning is a good meal and doesn't cost much, but that is hard to feed to a kid when they have the lust for sugar and then sit on their ass and play games

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 10:13 PM. Reason : ,]

12/13/2011 10:10:01 PM

Its too easy to be be fat now. Computers, blu rays, Ipads, playstations, big ass TVs. It used to be kids couldn't wait to go outside. Now they can't wait to come back in.

12/13/2011 10:11:04 PM

If you've got the money for 62 thousand a year you can afford liposuction and/or a lap-band

12/13/2011 10:12:42 PM

Quote :

"I think the big problem is the discipline to follow through though"

that's exactly what this provides. it IMMERSES the child in an environment where every action they take is designed and revolves around the goal of established lasting good habits

i don't know how much it costs to staff such an organization, but hey, staff gotta get paid too

12/13/2011 10:24:38 PM

I wish I still had the link that connected parent's cooking ability to the occurrence of obesity. It makes a lot of sense--bad cooks tend to make what is easiest. That means a lot of processed food, high carb, high fat, low protein, few vegetables. And despite "not buying it" ^^^^,^^^^^, it is cheaper to cook badly than cook healthy FOR people that can't cook, or don't know how to cook, healthier foods. It's so much an EDUCATIONAL issue, with kids AND with parents. Obviously with the right education (what to cook, how to cook it) you can create a healthy diet at any budget level. So it's not that you can't cook healthy with a low budget, it's just that a huge amount of people don't know how to, or don't realize what they should be eating in the first place.

...but yea, fuck 62k a year, that's cheaper than lap-band.

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 10:29 PM. Reason : f]

12/13/2011 10:27:11 PM

Better be a bunch of Major Payne's and Sergeant Hartman's there to keep them in line. Fat kids can be truculent as fuck.

12/13/2011 10:29:40 PM

Quote :

"It's so much an EDUCATIONAL issue, with kids AND with parents. Obviously with the right education (what to cook, how to cook it) you can create a healthy diet at any budget level. So it's not that you can't cook healthy with a low budget, it's just that a huge amount of people don't know how to, or don't realize what they should be eating in the first place."

Right, so...

I still don't buy it.

12/13/2011 10:30:21 PM

I mean, you don't really have to.

12/13/2011 10:39:49 PM

I don't think the core problem is parent's ability to cook, although that may be a contributing factor.

Humans did not evolve eating highly processed, calorie-dense foods. Imagine an early human's response to the concept of a "fat camp". It was really only after the agricultural revolution that food became abundant. Today, you can be fat even if you're dirt poor. There are plenty of cheap, calorie-dense foods out there.

People have to be armed with the knowledge that the "full stomach" response is not easily triggered by these modern foods. If you're someone that has gotten fat (almost assuredly to overeating), you have to deliberately change your habits. If you eat a lot of lean meat and vegetables, it's damn near impossible to overeat.

12/13/2011 10:41:06 PM

Quote :

"Right, so... I still don't buy it."

Don't buy what? Then explain the correlation between low income uneducated families and obesity.

I go to Concord Mills Mall in Charlotte I see lots of fat people. I go to South Park and don't see any fat people.

It's very much an educational issue. What's your explanation?

12/13/2011 10:45:09 PM

I actually fully agree with the educational aspect, but i don't think it's simple. I don't think it has to do with a lack of nutrition education, I think it has to do with a lack of general education. Logic, problem-solving, rational thinking, etc. It's not just being smart about food/exercise specifically, it's more about how an individual's brain processes things like this.

12/13/2011 10:47:16 PM

i love watching fat people eat, it makes my day

12/13/2011 10:47:30 PM

^^well yes education in general and their parents simply didn't know better.

Reminds me of:

12/13/2011 10:49:43 PM

Quote :

"I don't think the core problem is parent's ability to cook, although that may be a contributing factor. Humans did not evolve eating highly processed, calorie-dense foods. Imagine an early human's response to the concept of a "fat camp". It was really only after the agricultural revolution that food became abundant. Today, you can be fat even if you're dirt poor. There are plenty of cheap, calorie-dense foods out there. People have to be armed with the knowledge that the "full stomach" response is not easily triggered by these modern foods. If you're someone that has gotten fat (almost assuredly to overeating), you have to deliberately change your habits. If you eat a lot of lean meat and vegetables, it's damn near impossible to overeat."

Inability to cook isn't the core factor, I don't think anyone said it was, but yea it's definitely contributing to it.

It still all points to education. People CAN afford to eat healthy, but have the preconceived notion that the only "healthy" food is organic exotics from high end markets like Whole Foods, when in actuality you can bake a chicken and serve it with two vegetables and brown rice for next to nothing and feed a full family.

Quote :

"I actually fully agree with the educational aspect, but i don't think it's simple. I don't think it has to do with a lack of nutrition education, I think it has to do with a lack of general education. Logic, problem-solving, rational thinking, etc. It's not just being smart about food/exercise specifically, it's more about how an individual's brain processes things like this."

In a lot of cases I agree, but it becomes even more complex when you factor in sociocultural issues that have been part of American thought for... well, a long time. Obviously you can't pin it down to "all fat people are uneducated", not to say you are.

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 10:52 PM. Reason : f]

12/13/2011 10:50:27 PM

^^That is a good observation right there. Pretty crazy.

^
portion size contributes to the increase in food costs as does people paying for shit like soda and doritos instead of water at home and fruits for snacks

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 10:52 PM. Reason : jank]

12/13/2011 10:51:00 PM

My man went to town on that chocolate bar

12/13/2011 10:52:12 PM

^I have no idea why but i just spit water out laughing at that response

12/13/2011 10:52:36 PM

Quote :

"Don't buy what?"

That it's a matter of not having enough money to eat right.

12/13/2011 10:54:48 PM

Ok agreed. I think it's more a matter of being educated or aware enough to eat healthy on a budget.

Although I won't lie it's easier to eat well AND healthy if you're not on a strict budget.

12/13/2011 10:56:56 PM

I agree that it's a matter of discipline, among other things. Previous generations never had to deal with obesity because an active lifestyle made up for whatever shitty eating habits they had. Of course they'd still have cholesterol and high blood pressure, but weight wouldn't be as big of a deal.

It takes active effort to develop and maintain healthy eating habits, especially when a fast food meal might be more convenient and tempting.

12/13/2011 11:13:25 PM

I like to think we can blame the internet quite a bit as well.

Think of all the people that go all day without seeing sunlight, sitting inside playing WoW and eating Doritos.

12/13/2011 11:54:15 PM

I do think that eating healthy and cheap, especially when kids are involved, does take a fair amount of cooking know-how. Take something like beans and rice. Dirt cheap, even more so if you use dried beans. And if you know how to cook (and have things like a decent selection of spices, which tend to be found more often among those who know how to use them) it's damn tasty. If you don't know how to cook it well, bland as fuck and good luck getting a child to eat it.

12/14/2011 9:55:38 AM

Very valid point. It's harder to get kids to eat delicious healthy food unless you know how to cook.

It's almost easier to spend the extra and get junk food.

So free cooking classes for lower income families?

12/14/2011 10:01:50 AM

cardio is free everybody

12/14/2011 10:12:35 AM

Or just not letting your kids play video games growing up. I don't think I even got a Gameboy until late middle school. I was outside all the time not to mention my youth was filled with biking and camping trips.

12/14/2011 10:24:00 AM

great story, i didn't know about that school. It's a very good idea, but i think can still be effective at a much lower cost. Ya healthier nutritious food costs more, but not 62k more.


What kids really need is afterschool programs and exercise back in the school of their own home. I would love to start a local based company that works with obese children without requiring them to be sent away and educated as well.

Have it be an afterschool program, 2 hours of exercise, provide a healthy dinner or if they want to eat at home a nutritious light snack, and sent them home with their family. That would be much more affordable and I think as equally as effective. You don't need to be in a camp doing 6h/exercise a day. 2h is more than enough and then an hour of healthy life coaching and dinner

12/14/2011 10:25:17 AM

Quote :

"Ya healthier nutritious food costs more, "

You're going to get some shit for that itt.

12/14/2011 10:28:25 AM

Quote :

""

heh I've never thought about that before. Now I'm going to have to go back and watch the original movie.

12/14/2011 10:30:24 AM

Quote :

""Ya healthier nutritious food costs more, " You're going to get some shit for that itt."

lol prob, but i've gotten shit for saying a lot less



are there any certified trainers or fitness instructors that have had experience in training children before? I'm serious about starting a company. I don't have any certification but I have the food and nutrition side covered. I would just need someone to work with the kids on the sports and exercise part

12/14/2011 10:39:11 AM

I recently read a book by Gary Taubes called "Why We Get Fat". He found evidence of poverty stricken towns and villages before we had modern food that were all obese. Historically, poor people have been fat even if they labored hard all day. Nutrient lacking food is to blame in these cases.

He also looks at a bunch of studies on exercise and concludes that it is not that important. The more activity, the more you want to consume. Therefore, calories in/out do not matter. Before WW2, doctors used to have obese people bed rest all day. If you weight lift you will be hungrier and consume calories to make up for what you expended. You could not eat, but that kinda goes against what your body wants. The book is pretty interesting. The standard American diet is pretty horrendous. Too many carbs, not enough nutrients and good fats.

12/14/2011 10:45:51 AM

Quote :

"it is not always more expensive. i'm sick of that excuse. unless you eat ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

agreed 100%. That myth needs to die.

12/14/2011 10:47:56 AM

The idea that people are getting fatter because they are lazier also needs to die. The problem is much more complicated than that. Blaming it on laziness will just slow down progress. The main issue is diet.

12/14/2011 10:55:09 AM

exercise-powered computers or personal devices could be an interesting motivation for exercise. I read a couple of articles about "crazy" executives that spent the day on the treadmill with the laptop and phone there. Maybe it isn't such a crazy idea for office- and commute-bound people

12/14/2011 10:59:53 AM

Quote :

"He also looks at a bunch of studies on exercise and concludes that it is not that important. The more activity, the more you want to consume. Therefore, calories in/out do not matter. Before WW2, doctors used to have obese people bed rest all day. If you weight lift you will be hungrier and consume calories to make up for what you expended. You could not eat, but that kinda goes against what your body wants. The book is pretty interesting. The standard American diet is pretty horrendous. Too many carbs, not enough nutrients and good fats."

You could make this argument but I don't think it's valid at all. All the active people I know are in shape and NOT obese. You find me a bunch of fat active people and we'll talk.

Quote :

" Therefore, calories in/out do not matter."

Not really. If you're a healthy human being you have a better metabolism, you're more active, probably eat healthier, and only eat the calories you need.

Saying exercise isn't important is a joke.

12/14/2011 11:02:54 AM

The non-profit I work for deals mainly with nutrition and obesity with low income, at-risk, and under served youth in PA. In our summer program, Food For Thought, we mainly target three areas when it come to fighting obesity; one is with teaching about nutrition and food. A lot of the teens I work with have no clue about processed food, what makes it processed and what goes into their food. One of our kids had never even seen a real egg. A real egg in it's shell. To her, eggs are in mcmuffins or in liquid form in a carton. So, a big part of our summer program is to teach the basics of cooking and food. The second part of our program is teaching about money and going to the market and seeing what can buy what, what are your choices (and then how to cook those choices). The third part of our summer program is working on farms and learning about organic farming and gardens and growing their own food. It's amazing how much our teens change and learn about food just from growing it themselves. We also pay our youth for the work they do on the farms and a portion of the food grown goes to our local food bank. Being able to pay our youth, helps tremendously, many of the youth would not being able to participate and would likely work at McDonalds or somewhere else.

12/14/2011 11:03:50 AM

^^ agreed. The argument that people who work out tend to eat more and it just cancels out is silly in its plain vanilla form. Sure you can definitely lead an active life and still be overweight if you have a poor diet or metabolism problems. But just saying that exercise doesn't matter because people become hungrier and eat more thus it comes out in the wash is facepalm worthy.

12/14/2011 11:09:04 AM

I don't completely agree with his views in that part of the book and it is the most controverisal part but I think he does a good job finding studies on humans and animals alike that backs up his hypothesis that exercise isn't as important as people think. I exercise too and generally feel better when I do but I don't have to do it to lose weight.

Quote :

"Sure you can definitely lead an active life and still be overweight if you have a poor diet or metabolism problems."

Yea, that is kinda the point.

Quote :

"All the active people I know are in shape and NOT obese."

Your definition of active is probably different than mine.

12/14/2011 11:27:53 AM

Quote :

"Then explain the correlation between low income uneducated families and obesity."

Why does one have the be the cause for the other? Why can't they both be symptoms of a common cause?

Quote :

"I think the big problem is the discipline to follow through though."

12/14/2011 11:56:02 AM

Yes all poor people are stupid and lazy. Problem solved.

12/14/2011 12:07:49 PM

Quote :

"Healthy food is more expensive You also have to cook it yourself, which single working parents struggle with."

Last I checked beans and rice are not expensive and they are definitely healthy. Throw in $10 worth of salad greens and you can eat for 2 weeks (assuming you buy them on alternating weeks).

And I can whip up something from scratch in under 20 minutes for 2 people. Almost anything is good in the oven with a little olive oil at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Chicken, pork, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, turnips, carrots, potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Supplement with beans and rice to make it go farther. There are 100 other ways to have more variation that don't take much time.

Oh, but you mean you can't have a healthy cut of meat with a mountain of deep fried processed potatoes with a pre made cheese sauce cheaply....

[Edited on December 14, 2011 at 12:34 PM. Reason : a]

12/14/2011 12:32:33 PM