August 19, 2004

Weight Loss A Family Affair
LA JOLLA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2004

(CBS) Thirteen-year-old Lauren Pappert is working hard on her summer vacation, trying to kick her lifelong weight problem at Camp La Jolla, a family fitness program near San Diego.

Her mom Juanita is a camper too.

"With my mom here it kind of gives me encouragement so once I see her doing what she does, I'm like, 'Oh, I want to get better so I can impress her and make her proud I'm her daughter," says Lauren Pappert.

"And it's vice versa," says her mom.

As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, they're both a part of a growing summer trend: families tackling weight loss together.

These programs teach exercise, nutrition and family dynamics. The goal: parents and children help each other avoid temptation back home.

"I can't imagine doing it without having everyone on board because the pressure is too hard on the outside of the world," says Juanita Pappert.

A world full of fast food, television: and video games - a combo platter that's contributing to soaring obesity rates. Thirty percent of American kids are overweight.

"Schools cut back physical education," says Nancy Lenhart, the director of Camp La Jolla. "There is no longer home ec, there isn't very much health education, both parents work and kids are left alone."

So kids at Camp La Jolla learn portion control by serving other campers, and parents go home armed with healthy recipes.

In the sprint to get their kids in shape, it's no wonder so many parents are taking advantage of summer fitness camps that have cropped up from coast to coast. But doctors fear some parents may be taking fitness too far.

The "Itsy Bitsy" yoga class in Santa Monica is often packed with new moms and concerns.

"We worry about it, you know, genetically both sides of our family have heavyset people," says Casey Muldoon

Pediatricians, who've seen youngsters get injured, urge caution.

"They're not building muscle strength, they're just building what we call motor control or specific skill movements, but they're not getting stronger or more aerobically fit," says Dr. Eric Small of the American Academy of Pediatrics Fellow.

At Camp La Jolla, they're learning healthy habits can start at any age but it takes a family to stay fit.

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