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Nation’s First Therapeutic Boarding School for Overweight
Teens, Academy of the Sierras, to Open in September
Contact:
Ryan Craig
Healthy Living Academies
917-575-8903
(CERRITOS, CA – June 29, 2004) — Aspen Education
Group today announced the establishment of the nation’s
first therapeutic boarding school
exclusively devoted to helping overweight and obese
teenagers change their lives.
The Academy of the Sierras, scheduled to open in September, has been
designed as a college preparatory residential school that combines
diet and activity management with behavioral therapy and a rigorous
academic program to prepare adolescents for a healthier future. Located
on a 68-acre campus near Fresno, California, Academy of the Sierras
will enroll boys and girls ages 13-18 that are at least 30 pounds overweight
and have been struggling with overweight or obesity for at least two
years and who may have attendant psychological or health issues.
“Obesity and excess weight are the most serious health issues facing
American teenagers,” said Elliot Sainer, CEO of Aspen Education Group.
“Up until now, treatment options for obese young people have been limited,
often risky, and rarely effective. Academy of the Sierras will provide
the first comprehensive solution for adolescents who are struggling
with their weight.”
Living year-round in a controlled boarding school environment, students
will participate in a diet and activity management program to achieve
immediate and dramatic weight loss and an educational and therapeutic
program to ensure long-term behavioral change designed to keep the
weight off.
“Over time, changes in weight and activity levels improve mood and
self-esteem and resolve health issues stemming from excess weight,”
said Sainer. “A happier, healthier teen is much more able to focus
on academics and achieve success than a child with low self-image and
debilitating health problems.”
“The academy’s approach to changing the behavior and lifestyle of
students has a long and solid scientific basis,” said Academy of the
Sierras Executive Director Ryan Craig. Craig is also president of Healthy
Living Academies, the division of Aspen launched in March 2004 to establish
boarding schools and summer camps to address the teen obesity crisis
in America.
“The cognitive-behavioral therapy program at Academy of the Sierras
incorporates every major concept and technique demonstrated by research
to be effective in treating excess weight in adolescents,” he added.
Key components of the therapy program include stimulus control, goal-setting,
self-monitoring, decisional counseling, relapse prevention training
and positive focusing. These techniques, conducted in individual and
group sessions, help students develop the skills and behavior they
need to master long-term weight control.
Leading Healthy Living Academies’ clinical program is Daniel Kirschenbaum,
Ph.D. Dr. Kirschenbaum, a professor at Northwestern University Medical
School in Chicago, has developed a number of successful weight loss
programs for hospitals across the country. He is a past president of
the Division of Exercise and Sports Psychology of the American Psychological
Association and has authored over 100 scientific articles and books,
including Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity and The 9 Truths
About Weight Loss, which was endorsed by the American Council on Exercise.
“In 32 years of researching and treating childhood and adolescent
obesity, I’ve seen that environment and lifestyle are powerful barriers
to weight loss,” said Dr. Kirschenbaum. “By living and working within
a controlled, positive environment 24/7 for several semesters, overweight
teens can achieve dramatic results and genuine lifestyle change.”
Academy of the Sierras also features an individualized, rigorous academic
program. “Academy of the Sierras is recognized as a private school
by the State of California Department of Education,” said Craig. “Students
can be expected to leave the academy and return to their former school
well ahead of where they otherwise might have been.” Credits earned
at the school are transferable and recognized by colleges. For more
information on Academy of the Sierras, visit www.academyofthesierras.com.
Healthy Living Academies boasts an advisory board that consists of
leading experts in pediatric and adolescent obesity, including: Kelly
D. Brownell, Ph.D., professor and chair of psychology at Yale University
and director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders; Georgia
Kostas, M.P.H., R.D., former director of nutrition at the Cooper Clinic,
Dallas, and author of The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution;
Melinda Sothern, Ph.D., of Louisiana State University Health Sciences
and Pennington Centers and author of Trim Kids, The Proven 12-Week
Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight;
Dennis Styne, M.D., Rumsey chair of pediatric endocrinology at the
University of California, Davis, a pediatric endocrinologist who specializes
in pediatric obesity and its complications; and Jarol Boan, M.D., a
physician nutrition specialist and assistant professor of medicine
and surgery at Duke University who specializes in the multidisciplinary
approach to the treatment of obesity.
Aspen Education Group (AEG) is the nation’s leader in providing educational
opportunities that improve the quality of life for troubled children,
teens and young adults and their families. AEG offers a wide diversity
of programs, settings and solutions that match youths’ needs with the
right learning environment. Through Aspen’s 41 programs in 13 states,
parents can choose from long-term residential treatment to community-based
outpatient services with a variety of therapeutic interventions that
include boarding schools, special education day schools, outdoor therapy
and wilderness programs. AEG was named among the top 100 education
companies in 2003 by Eduventures, a leading independent research firm
dedicated to learning markets.
To learn more about AEG’s other therapeutic schools and programs or
about Healthy Living Academies, visit www.aspeneducation.com or www.healthylivingacademies.com
or call 866-364-0808. |
