What is a “fat camp”?

When we think of “fat camp”, we think of a place where desperate, overweight children are sent against their will. Their “punishment” for being fat comes in the form of near-starvation, forced exercise and glum surroundings. In this stereotype, fat camp is a judgmental, unfriendly and unpleasant experience.

Negative stereotypes of “Fat camps” in popular culture

• In The Good Body , Eve Ensler adopts the role of a teenager at fat camp. The play focuses on women's obsession with their outsides diminishing their potential to create larger change in the world.

• In Fat Camp Commandos by Daniel Pinkwater, miserable children who were tricked into attending “Camp Noo Yoo” hatch an escape plan.

• In the South Park episode, Fat Camp , Mrs. Cartman holds an intervention for her son's eating problem and sends him to fat camp, where he sells candy to kids.

• In the Disney movie Heavyweights , a group of kids discover their summer camp has been sold to a crazy fitness fanatic who turns it into a fat camp.

Why is Camp Shane NOT a fat camp?

Camp Shane is based on the model of a traditional camp, with all the fitness activities, sports and special events that the best-equipped traditional camps have. We don't obsess over dieting – the emphasis is on friends, fitness and fun! We work on learning or improving physical skills so that campers can continue to be active after camp, learning about nutrition so that campers can make healthier food choices at home, and working on self-esteem issues that help campers build confidence in their ability to succeed.

Camp Shane is not a fat camp because we promote improving health for the long-term, not losing as much weight as possible in the shortest time possible.“Fat camps” do not mind if the weight returns; in fact, they are happy to get repeat business.

At Camp Shane, we do not care if you are 0, 10 or 50 pounds overweight - in fact, we have many campers who have achieve weight loss results but return for the good times and good friends. The “fat camp” mentality is part of a culture that demands makeovers - the faster and more extreme the better. But Camp Shane works to internalize the changes that make losing weight about better health choices – NOT thinness at any cost.

We encourage our campers to want to look their best, which we define as healthy and fit. We discourage trying to achieve the impossible “perfection” of the teen supermodel, which can promote psychological problems, including eating disorders. Often, children don't want to tell their friends they are going to Camp Shane because of the “fat camp” stigma, but when they return home, healthier, more confident, and yes, thinner, they love to share stories of the great time they had and are proud of what they have accomplished.