Shedding pounds at 'fat camp'

11:28am Wednesday 25th July 2007

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ANDOVER schoolgirl Tamara Pratt is spending her summer holidays shedding the pounds at Britain's only US-style fat camp.

Tamara is just one of 37 overweight youngsters who have checked into the Wellspring UK weight-loss programme launched last weekin Cumbria.

The 15-year-old faces a gruelling eight-week reg-ime, which includes outdoor pursuits in the Lake District, motivational counselling and healthy meals such as low-fat buffalo meat chilli con carne.

The course is held behind closed doors, with the aim of keeping the youngsters away from temptation such as fast food outlets.

Organisers claim the youngsters, aged 12 to 17, will not only lose over 4lbs a week, they will keep it off.

And desperate parents from all over the UK as well as the Middle East have forked out £5,700 each to send their obese offspring to the camp in Penrith.

Tamara, who weighs in at 15st 2oz, blames boredom and depression at her parents' divorce for setting her off overeating.

She said: "It's no fun being overweight, but it's so easy to put on the pounds - especially when things are not ideal in your family life.

"But I decided I wanted to do something about it, and when I saw the camp on the internet I asked my parents if I could go, and they said yes.

"I'm a bit nervous about being so far away from for eight weeks, but I reckon it will all be worth it to lose weight. Ideally I'd like to get down to 12st, which is what my sister weighs."