The biggest loser thread got me to thinking about this. I've been watching this show for several weeks now and I can't decide if it's good or bad.

This "camp" takes overweight kids and teaches them how to lose weight. They stay at the camp and if they follow all the rules they get a small allotted time where they can call their parents once a week.They get no more than 20 grams of fat per day and they do all their school work and get a lot of exercise while at the camp. From what was said on the show it must be very expensive b/c one man said he cleared out his 401K to pay for it.

These kids do need help but IDK sometimes this seems extreme to me. One set of parents each got a Lap Band and then sent their child to this camp to lose weight. That really got me thinking. If your child is that overweight why not struggle through it with them and do what they have to do to lose weight rather than get a Lap Band?

The mom said well his dad and I got a Lap Band and now we are successful in losing weight and that makes our child feel even worse about his own weight.

So what are your thoughts? Have you seen this show?

Too Fat for Fifteen: Fighting Back - mystyle.com

Edited to add: According to the site it's $26,000 for 4 months!!

Edited September 23, 201015 yr by spoiltmom
Added something

Wow... I haven't heard about this show but I am going to look into it. Seems a little extreme to me. And the price tag is straight up crazy!

The mom said well his dad and I got a LAP-BAND® and now we are successful in losing weight and that makes our child feel even worse about his own weight.

Ding ding ding. This is the point I was trying to make in another thread where people thought 14 was too young to have a band.

If a 14 year old is expected to diet and exercise and keep the weight off successfully, then logic follow that an adult should as well.

These parents are sending a mixed message. "You have to go through torture to lose this weight and keep it off, but since we're adults we're going go the easy route."

Keep in mind I'm not suggestion that the band is 'easy'...but that's the message and impression that teen will most likely take away from this.

I'd like to see the followup on these kids 2-3 years later. I'll reserve my opinion until then.

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Ding ding ding. This is the point I was trying to make in another thread where people thought 14 was too young to have a band.

If a 14 year old is expected to diet and exercise and keep the weight off successfully, then logic follow that an adult should as well.

These parents are sending a mixed message. "You have to go through torture to lose this weight and keep it off, but since we're adults we're going go the easy route."

Keep in mind I'm not suggestion that the band is 'easy'...but that's the message and impression that teen will most likely take away from this.

I'd like to see the followup on these kids 2-3 years later. I'll reserve my opinion until then.

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You really should watch the show. It's sort of like the Biggest Loser except for kids and it has a HUGE price tag on it. The kids even cry b/c they are homesick and just want to go home.

When I was 14 I was 275 lbs. I went the dr route and took the diet pills. I lost 85lbs and kept it off until I was 17 and started gaining it back. Now that I am 28 I just got banded and weighted 440 at my top weight. I think 14 is to young to get banded. I could have changed my lifestyle before I got to this point.

I don't understand why anyone would need to wipe out their savings to send their kid to a camp that is taping a TV show. Should'nt the tuition be covered by the TV company? So my kid provides the show and I pay for the priviledge? I don't think so.

Also the idea of removing a child from their home to send them to some kind of boot camp sounds like abuse to me. If this program is healthy and such a good idea why aren't the parents willing to live the same life style so the kids can stay at home?

Ding ding ding. This is the point I was trying to make in another thread where people thought 14 was too young to have a band.

If a 14 year old is expected to diet and exercise and keep the weight off successfully, then logic follow that an adult should as well.

These parents are sending a mixed message. "You have to go through torture to lose this weight and keep it off, but since we're adults we're going go the easy route."

Keep in mind I'm not suggestion that the band is 'easy'...but that's the message and impression that teen will most likely take away from this.

I'd like to see the followup on these kids 2-3 years later. I'll reserve my opinion until then.

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Your second-to-last statement (I underlined) highlights why a young teen is not a good candidate for banding. An inability to form realistic expectations of a procedure rules young teens out as candidates. (Heck, look at how many adults, on this site, have completely unrealistic expectations and therefore fail.)

If nothing else, the child whose parents have been banded can learn, at camp, behaviors that will enhance his odds of success with the band.

Banding is a last resort. Young teens are, by virtue of developmental stage alone, inherently noncompliant. They are noncompliant with diet. They rebel against authority. They conform to peer expectations--and if that involves pizza and chips--well, even the banded kid is going to want pizza and chips.

Though there are exceptions---some very compliant kids----most are not. The fact that we all wish we'd done it sooner, had conquered weight much earlier in life, doesn't make it a good idea for early teens. Timing is everything, when it comes to success. There's a process---a process that brought us all to the place where we were ready. There aren't many fourteen-year-olds who are developmentally prepared or mature enough for bariatric surgery. (I would make exceptions, perhaps, for life-and-death situations.)

Furthermore, there are ethical considerations. Making the decision for a child---to alter his/her body in a way that severely impacts lifestyle long-term.... Well, it's an adult decision that should be made by an adult for him- or herself, IMO. Not a decision to be made by an adult for someone who is developmentally unprepared to make the decision for him/herself.

I can't fathom giving consent formy fourteen-year-old to be banded. He's got a mom who's banded and has a better idea than most kids of what's in store. And he's unusually bright---gifted, even---but still is not mature enough to thoroughly assess what is required of him as a bandster. If he can't say no to pizza at a friend's house now, sticking a band in his belly isn't going to do the trick. As a parent, I feel it would be unethical to make that decision for him at an age when he is ill-prepared to comply with the "rules."

OTOH, if he were to need banding (he doesn't), and asked for my support as an older teen--he'd get it, 100 percent.

Timing is everything.

I watch the show because I can relate to these kids. I don't agree with everything the program has to offer though . I also do not agree with this school taking advantage of these children and their families by overcharging them and then treating the children as if they are criminals. Earning a right to talk to your family on the phone is ridiculous.

I watch the show because I can relate to these kids. I don't agree with everything the program has to offer though . I also do not agree with this school taking advantage of these children and their families by overcharging them and then treating the children as if they are criminals. Earning a right to talk to your family on the phone is ridiculous.

That is why I have such mixed feelings about the show. The kids need help but this just seems drastic and highly expensive. I still watch it though b/c I'm curious about there methods and rather or not they really work.

When I was 14 I was 275 lbs. I went the dr route and took the diet pills. I lost 85lbs and kept it off until I was 17 and started gaining it back. Now that I am 28 I just got banded and weighted 440 at my top weight. I think 14 is to young to get banded. I could have changed my lifestyle before I got to this point.

You say you could have changed your lifestyle before you got to this point. Obviously you couldn't because you did get to this point. Or did you make the conscious decision to eat until you weighed 440 lbs? I'm thinking not.

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Betsy,

Making the statement that all young teens are not good candidates is like saying all adults *are* good candidates. It depends entirely on the person in both cases.

I've gone to group support meetings at my bariatric center and they do have some young teens there. They're doing better than the vast majority of adults and appear to be (from their weight loss and what they have to say) more committed than the adults.

I'm not going to belabor the point though since I know people have their own opinions and rarely change their mind. This is just mine based on my experiences.

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Yep...I'm watching it right now...I just hope that the kids are able to keep the weight off when they get home...and $26,000 per semester is waaaaaaaay too much $$$!!! I paid $15,000 for my band (out of pocket) and it will last for the rest of my life.

Edited September 24, 201015 yr by ebonyrw

Love that show and the absolutely adorable Tanisha.

whoops--duplicate post.

Edited September 24, 201015 yr by BetsyB

As I posted on the other thread, Elfie, most doctors refuse to perform the procedure on young teens. There is a reason for this, and it's maturity and compliance. It's not just a stubborn opinion I refuse to change--it's the current medical stance.

I'm not a 'never change my mind' person--I am an RN with experience both with bariatric patients and adolescents.

However, very small studies are now appearing, demonstrating that for some, banding is a good option. http://www.generalsurgerynews.com/index.asp?section_id=69&show=dept&issue_id=642&article_id=15311

If continued research backs studies like this very small one up, I think we can expect to see more surgeons willing to perform the procedure on younger teens. And for some teens (just as for some adults--because we all know that it isn't the answer across the board for anyone), it may be a good choice.

My issue will remain primarily ethical. Banding, as we all know, requires enormous lifestyle change. I believe that the person making those changes should be the one to consent. That is never the case when a minor is operated on. And that is a problem for me.

I believe that the person making those changes should be the one to consent. That is never the case when a minor is operated on. And that is a problem for me.

Just because the parent gives the official consent, it does not mean that the minor has not also given their consent. If it's a case of a parent wanting the band for the teen and the teen not wanting it, then I agree that doing the band surgery would be the wrong decision.

If the teen has been a part of the whole process from start to finish and makes the decision to do this, then it might be the right decision depending on the teen.

As you said, studies are showing that for some teens it is a good option...just as it is a good option for *some* adults.

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