Adirondack getaway helps young women lose weight

It's 3 p.m. at Camp Wellspring and like an army of ants, young women file furtively into a dormitory kitchen to get their fair due.

Moments later, a counselor appears with box in hand, and meanders through the crowd to a table. But as quickly as she sets the box down, hordes of impatient hands plunge into it and empty it.

One girl ambles in late, looks at the empty box and is bewildered.

"I didn't get any snack," she says, disappointedly.

While snack time is a common fixture at most summer camps, it is about as integral at this camp as swimming lessons are at others.

Located at Paul Smiths College in the northern Adirondacks, Camp Wellspring is a summer weight-loss camp for adolescent girls and young women 15 and older. Summer 2004 marked the camp's first year of operation, drawing 85 girls from around the country and the world -- two from the Middle East and two from Mexico.

The camp's philosophy is simple: eat low-fat foods in moderation, exercise daily and monitor everything you eat. No food or drink passes a camper's lips without it being written down in a calorie-counting journal.

"You look so different, so ... skinny," said Perri Hamma, 17, to another camper, a 15-year-old who was diligently recording her 90-calorie snack in her calorie-counting journal.

"I dropped four pant sizes, thank you very much," replied the teen, who, after four weeks at the camp, looked every bit like the average American teenager.

Owned and operated by Aspen Education Group of California, the camp was founded by Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, clinical director of Healthy Living Academies and professor at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. Kirschenbaum also is the author of "9 Truths About Weight Loss," which is read by all campers and widely considered gospel.

At $3,800 for four weeks or $6,800 for eight weeks, girls and young women are afforded a spa treatment at Camp Wellspring that includes housing in Paul Smiths dorms, meals in the college dining halls and access to a wide range of campus facilities.

 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 1999-2000 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey indicated an estimated 15 percent of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are overweight or obese.

In addition to the health implications that are associated with being overweight or obese -- diabetes, asthma and heart disease -- research indicates that overweight children are likely to become overweight adults.

"It's a combination of genetics, lack of exercise and poor diets," said Utica bariatric surgeon Dr. Kenneth Graniero. "We are killing ourselves, literally."

One girl pointed out that while she'd like to look like Drew Barrymore, her dad has suggested she should emulate Britney Spears. In modern society, it's hard for teen girls to ignore pressures they feel from society and even at home.

"For some people, weight is a way of protecting themselves from the world," said Barbara Casey, a camp therapist.

While a typical day at Wellspring attempts gradual weight-loss with an action-packed schedule, low-fat meals and individual therapy sessions, most girls achieve the success they crave, even at the most moderate levels. But how can they maintain their success when camp closes its doors?

"Over a certain weight, diet and exercise don't work. You can lose 20-30 pounds, but can you keep it off?" Graniero asked.

That's why the camp instructs the girls that they have to be ever-watchful.

"Wellspring encourages life changes," camp co-director Chris Roy said. "We are teaching girls and women the individualized skills they need to be successful beyond the summer."

Wellspring's Web-based after-care program, enabling campers to continue to self-monitor themselves under the supervision of camp staff via e-mail, is just one way the camp attempts to ensure continued success in weight loss.

"The majority of our girls came to camp with high fat/high calorie eating habits and very poor exercise habits. There are many reasons for this. Our goal at camp is for girls to identify their own issues and properly address them," Roy said.

One 20-year-old camper, Ashley Welch, said getting away from her daily life for a few weeks has helped her recognize her own personal responsibility for decisions regarding eating and her health.

"I just needed a break from everything," Welch said. "You have to make sure you get what you put in."

As the setting sun casts a fiery glaze over Lower St. Regis Lake, the campers gather inside the Paul Smiths student center for a going-away party for Casey.

A hula-hoop contest is in full swing, and even the most self-conscious camper waits her turn to whirl the timeless plastic ring around her hips.

And it seems that for this moment in time, the campers at Camp Wellspring let loose -- cheering robustly and howling with laughter.

Article & Photos by Heather Ainsworth, Observer-Dispatch