Weight Loss Blog
The Weight Loss Blog offers news and information about nutrition and fitness as well as actual weight loss success stories as told by students at Wellspring Academies, formerly Academy of the Sierras, the first boarding school for overweight teens. WSA is part of Wellspring, which also runs Wellspring weight loss camps.
The Blog started with entries by 15-year-old Jahcobie who graduated from WSA after losing 176 pounds in seven months. Then Brooke, a 17-year-old from Prescott, Arizona, took over. Our latest student blogger was Melissa, a 17-year-old from Orange County, California. Melissa recently graduated and we wish her success and she continues down her path as a "long-term weight controller."
Andy D. a 17-year-old student at Wellspring Academy spent a few months sharing his adventures in weight loss, healthy eating, and fitness fun with us before he graduated the program in June.
Now we'll continue to update you with news and information about weight lose, healthy living, and childhood obesity. We'll have a new WSA student share their stories with us beginning in the Fall.
Wellspring programs are the most effective weight loss solutions for teens available today. But don't let us tell you. Let Andy, Melissa, Brooke, and Jahcobie tell you. Read about their journeys toward successful weight management in their own words.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Type 2 Diabetes Complications in Teens
One in every 523 children and teens in the United States has diabetes today, according to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health. For those with type 2 diabetes, this means a younger age for diabetes complications such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, eye disease and heart problems.
Some experts believe that all overweight adolescents, particularly if sedentary or if there is a family history of diabetes, should be checked for this disease. Others take it one step further in saying that all children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be checked at that time for diabetes complications.
Labels: diabetes, general_health, overweight
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sleep May Help Kids Stay Thin
Children who sleep more are less likely to be overweight, a new study from Northwestern University shows.
Among children ages 3 to 8 years, just one extra hour of sleep a night decreases a child's chances of being overweight from 36% to 30%. Among the 8 to 13 years old group, an extra hour lowered the odds from 34% to 30%.
The researchers kept track of 2281 children who were ages 3 to 12 years at the beginning of the five-year study.
Emily Snell, lead researcher, said that a lack of sleep might affect hormones that regulate appetite. She recommended that children ages 5 to 12 years sleep 10 to 11 hours a night. For adolescents, that number is 8 to 9 hours. The seven-year-olds in the study averaged less than 10 hours on weekdays. This study appears in the February 2007 issue of
Child Development.
Labels: appetite, overweight, sleep
