Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Paper
  • Published:

Children's weight-loss camps: psychological benefit or jeopardy?

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the change in body image, self-esteem, and worries in obese adolescents attending a residential, weight-loss camp.

DESIGN: A longitudinal intervention study, with a nonintervention comparison group of lean adolescents.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 57 obese adolescents (age: 13,11; BMI: 32.6 kg/m2) and 38 normal weight comparison adolescents.

MEASURES:Self-esteem, salience of weight-related issues, body shape preference, weight and height at the start, and end of the weight-loss camp (mean stay: 4 weeks).

RESULTS: The obese adolescents lost 5.6 kg, reduced their BMI by 2.1 kg/m2, and BMI s.d. score by 0.28 while comparison children gained weight. Body shape dissatisfaction significantly decreased and self-esteem increased on measures of global self-worth, athletic competence, and physical appearance, in the camp attendees. This improvement took place without any exacerbation of existing worries about appearance or weight.

CONCLUSIONS: While obese adolescents had lower self-worth and greater body dissatisfaction relative to the comparison children at the start of the camp, the intervention improved their psychological state. Greater weight loss was associated with greater psychological improvement, indicating the value of the intervention and the relevance of psychological change in effective treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chinn S, Rona RJ . Prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity in three cross sectional studies of British children, 1974–94. BMJ 2001; 322: 24–26.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Strauss RS, Pollack HA . Epidemic Q1increase in child overweight, 1986–1998. JAMA 2001; 296: 2845–2848.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Dietz WH . Health consequences of obesity in youth: childhood predictors of adult disease. Pediatrics 1998; 101: 518–525.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hill AJ, Lissau I . Psychosocial factors. In: Burniat W, Cole T, Lissau I (eds). The obese and overweight child. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge; 2002. pp 109–128.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cooper PJ, Goodyer I . Prevalence and significance of weight and shape concerns in girls aged 11–16 years. Br J Psychiat 1997; 171: 542–544.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wadden TA, Foster GD, Stunkard AJ, Linowitz JR . Dissatisfaction with weight and figure in obese girls: discontent but not depression. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1989; 13: 89–97.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Moore DC . Body image and eating behaviour in adolescent boys. Am J Dis Child 1990; 144: 475–479.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Steen SN, Wadden TA, Foster GD, Andersen RE . Are obese adolescent boys ignoring an important health risk? Int J Eat Disord 1996; 20: 281–286.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Smolak L, Levine MP, Thompson JK . The use of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire with middle school boys and girls. Int J Eat Disord 2001; 29: 216–223.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. French SA, Story M, Perry CL . Self-esteem and obesity in children and adolescents: a literature review. Obesity Res 1995; 3: 479–490.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. French SA, Perry CL, Leon GR, Fulkerson JA . Self-esteem and change in body mass index over 3 years in a cohort of adolescents. Obesity Res 1996; 4: 27–33.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Braet C, Mervielde I, Vandereycken W . Psychological aspects of childhood obesity: a controlled study in a clinical and nonclinical sample. J Ped Psychol 1997; 22: 59–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Phillips RG, Hill AJ . Fat, plain, but not friendless: self-esteem and peer acceptance of obese pre-adolescent girls. Int J Obesity Relat Metab Disord 1998; 22: 287–293.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Strauss RS . Childhood obesity and self-esteem. Pediatrics 2000; 105: e15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Davison KK, Birch LL . Weight status, parent reaction, and self-concept in five-year-old girls. Pediatrics 2001; 107: 46–53.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Butler AC, Hokanson JE, Flynn H . A comparison of self-esteem lability and low self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression. J Pers Soc Psychol 1994; 66: 166–177.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Brown JD . The self. Guilford: New York; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wadden TA, Brown G, Foster GD, Linowitz JR . Salience of weight-related worries in adolescent males and females. Int J Eat Disord 1991; 10: 407–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Thomas-Dobersen DA, Butler-Simon N, Fleschner M . Evaluation of a weight management program in adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Am Diet Assoc 1993; 93: 535–540.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Cameron JW . Self-esteem changes in children enrolled in weight management programs. Issues Comp Ped Nursing 1999; 22: 75–85.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mellin LM, Slinkard LA, Irwin CE . Adolescent obesity intervention: validation of the SHAPEDOWN program. J Am Diet Assoc 1987; 87: 333–338.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Wadden TA, Stunkard AJ, Rich L, Rubin CJ, Sweidel G, McKinney S . Obesity in black adolescent girls: a controlled clinical trial of treatment by diet, behaviour modification, and parental support. Pediatrics 1990; 85: 345–352.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Gately PJ, Cooke CB, Butterly RJ, Mackreth P, Carroll S . The effects of a children's summer camp programme on weight loss, with a 10 month follow-up. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 1445–1452.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Gately PJ, Cooke CB . The use of a residential summer camp programme as an intervention for the treatment of obese and overweight children. A description of the methods used. Obes Pract 2003 (in press).

  25. Harter S . Manual for the self-perception profile for children. University of Denver: Denver; 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Stunkard AJ, Sorenson T, Schulsinger F . Use of the Danish adoption register for the study of obesity and thinness. In: Kety S (ed). The genetics of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Raven Press: New York; 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Hill AJ . The relationship between low self-esteem and obesity. In: Medeiros-Neto G, Halpern A, Bouchard C (eds). Progress in obesity research, vol 9. Libbey: London; 2003 (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Lean MEJ . Is long-term weight loss possible? Br J Nutr 2000; 83: S103–S111.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and National Institute of Diseases of Digestion and Kidneys. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults. Available from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/practgde.htm

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A J Hill.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Walker, L., Gately, P., Bewick, B. et al. Children's weight-loss camps: psychological benefit or jeopardy?. Int J Obes 27, 748–754 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802290

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802290

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links