What's Your Opinion of Fat Camps

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What is everyone's opinion of so called fat camps? My mother is enrolled in a fat camp for a week. She is not particularly overweight, but is concerned nonetheless.

I have been told that fat camps might produce short term results, but rarely any longer term benefits. Then again, I can see why they could work. Losing weight feels good.

For those who are wondering, I'm a bit overweight myself, but am shedding the excess weight comfortably and at my own pace.

Fat Camps sound like absolute torture where you are ridiculed, insulted and humiliated because they think you're entirely at fault for your weight problem, the people running the camp are like cruel Nazis who make you wear hideous sweat suits and work out until you're sick or pass out, and unless you manage to eat like a rabbit the rest of your life any success will be short-term. Well, maybe they're not as bad as the stupid reality shows on TV, but having to be in a regular camp is bad enough with the lack of privacy, forcing you to be up at dawn, the utter boredom, being cold, damp, uncomfortable, and lack of indoor plumbing (I can't stress enough how bad that is). The only good thing about any kind of camp is that when you come home your house or apartment feels like a five-star palace with all the thing you were taking for granted, like a warm dry bed and decent food and lack of biting, stinging insects and, of course, indoor plumbing! If I wanted to be out "enjoying nature" in the middle of nowhere where nothing happens, there's nothing to do and nowhere to go I would just go home to visit my parents.

My friend used to go out of state to a fat camp every summer. Her mom was kind of awful to her about her weight, she was adopted and I really think a lot of it was genetics. She is really athletic and has a big build. Even her pediatrician thought her health was pretty good, her weight wasn't a problem just because of a BMI chart.

She went through bouts of eating disordered behavior but in college she kind of shook it all off and played rugby and her size was an advantage. She keeps her mom at a distance these days.

I think the camp environment wasn't bad, it was mostly her mom that picked on her, the camp was something she looked forward to... so, that's all I know about fat camps.

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I think if you want to go there, because you want to go there its ok. But forcing someone to go there, specially when its a parent, forcing a child to go there, its a disaster. In my opinion, the responsible parents should instead go to a camp, where they are forced to learn how to feed their kids right, so they dont get massive overweight. Personally, I dont care for overweight out of external causes, but if you cant do sports anymore, and cant do stuff with your friends anymore, it sucks.

Depends what you're talking about.

In the old school sense, of a fat camp where people literally go stay at some camp somewhere designed to help them break their bad eating habits and get exercising.. or the more modern craze of all these different "boot camps," popping up everywhere?

Actually, nah, it doesn't really depend on anything.

I don't think these things are for me, but I'm not opposed to them if they are for others and they teach them how to overcome poor eating choices and inspire them to become more physically active and healthy. They could be the best thing some people ever do for themselves, especially if they learn best from that sort of instruction, or if they find it most motivating etc. Whatever floats your boat.

It's kinda like Zumba or Richard Simmons workouts or any other dance-aerobics workout fad, they don't interest me in the least bit - but if people enjoy them and it makes them happier and healthier and thus a lower cost burden to the medical system, great, have at 'er and do whatever it is that keeps you active.

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When I was fat, I would've liked to go to a highly rated fat camp. I didn't have the money or support from my family though, so I had to lose weight and get fit by myself. I think if they encourage a healthy lifestyle it's good. It should be a more comfortable environment, being around other fat people for the most part, so you don't feel embarrassed when working out or walking around, because there are people around just like you, struggling with their weight, trying to better themselves.