14 DAY TRIAL // Perhaps even more worrying than the obesity epidemic sweeping the world is the increase in the number of teens struggling with their weight. A dozen of kids have had their lives changed for ever after 4 months at the Independence camp.
Yesterday marked their return home, one that saw them face their families and the press with newfound confidence, better health and, yes, slimmer figures, KansasCity.com reports.
“Altogether, 12 overweight Independence children had lost 756 pounds [342.9 kg] at a fitness camp in South Carolina. Nearly 60 pounds [27.2 kg] each, on average,” the publication writes.
They’re all slimmer now but also more confident than they have ever felt in their young lives. They’re more active and have more energy, but they’re also happy they finally get to have their “moment.”
“It’s a tool as important as any they’re bringing back from the Independence district’s radical partnership with MindStream Academy in Bluffton, S.C,” the aforementioned media outlet says.
“They’ve got cookbooks with the healthy recipes they’ve learned, the grocery shopping techniques, the gardening skills, the exercise regimens, the active routines,” adds the same.
Each of the 12 kids is determined to stick to what they learned during their 4 month stay at the camp, with some even sending out precise instructions for their parents on which room should be turned into a gym or how daily workouts are about to become a sort of a family tradition.
Other kids might get a similar chance to improve their health by losing weight, if more funds become available.
“The future of the program also will depend on MindStream’s ability to support programming for public school children whose families often can afford to pay only small portions of the $28,500 [€21,631.8] semester tuition at the residential camp,” KansasCity.com notes.
“Independence is not using any additional funds over the public dollars already allotted to each student. If MindStream could raise more funding through grants, foundations and other donors, it would bring many of the Independence students back in January for a second semester,” the e-zine further says.