Keeping kids fit and healthy is a challenge, especially for parents of children who prefer cerebral pastimes like reading, video games and television viewing. The key to having healthy kids is teaching them the benefits of good nutrition and exercise. Parents who lead healthy lifestyles set an example for their children to model. Families in North Carolina have a number of opportunities to stay active and healthy, especially if they are willing to try new experiences.
Enjoying the Outdoors
The southern coastal climate of North Carolina enables kids to spend a good portion of the year outside, making exercise fun. Activities like hiking, playing outdoor sports and swimming do not feel like exercise, so kids need little motivation to get moving. Parents of North Carolina kids can take advantage of their surroundings, which includes 34 state parks featuring swamps, lakes, rivers, beachfront and miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. Summer camps in North Carolina that focus on health and weight loss take advantage of these great outdoor features.
Camp Considerations
If you believe a summer camp program is the right way to help your child lose weight and get healthy, you have several options. Collect information about the camps in North Carolina and speak with your child about his concerns. Determine if your child would feel more comfortable at a co-ed camp or if he would prefer to attend a single-gender camp. Discuss commitment and followup with your child, so she understands that she has responsibilities once camp has ended. Finally, determine whether your child would rather attend a camp focused on nutrition and healthy cooking, or if he would find an activities-based camp more beneficial. Most weight-loss camps incorporate both fitness and nutrition, but different camps present each in different ways.
Adventures in Healthy Living
The Wellspring Adventure Camp is based at Camp Hope in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This camp differs from other Wellspring Camps in the nation because of its focus on extreme outdoor activities. Campers spend days whitewater rafting, rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and rappelling. Campers are boys and girls ages 11 to 18, and enrollment is limited to no more than 80 children per session. From the base at Camp Hope, kids head out on one-week excursions, often resulting a 4-lb. weight loss by week's end.
Weight-Loss Stars
Camp Shining Stars is a program for boys and girls 10 to 18 years old. The camp helps kids lose weight, learn healthy habits and avoid future weight-related illness by keeping them active during camp sessions. There are more than 36 activities offered to campers, including dance, swimming and organized sports. Kids spend their evenings at camp enjoying karaoke, casino activities and talent competitions with new friends. Camp Shining Stars is in the city of Wilson on the 65-acre campus of Barton College.
Getting Fit the Blue Devil Way
The faculty and staff at the Duke Children's Division of Primary Care developed the Healthy Lifestyles for Children program, It focuses on the lifestyle of the entire family, helping parents set good examples in nutrition and exercise. The program enrolls infants to those 22 years and lasts for six months. It uses the patented "High Five for Fitness" recommendations, which include replacing sodas and juices with healthier drinks, watching less television, staying active, getting enough sleep and controlling portion size.
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