Camp Jumpstart-Missouri

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“A Weight Loss Camp For Kids” ages 9-17 years old that kids AND parents love.

Kids love it because they are accepted for who they are and parents love it that another parent is watching over their child when the child is far away from home. The owners, Jean and Tom Huelsing work with each child daily and know what is going on with them. No other camp offers this sense of security. As evidenced by the above video--which is an unpaid testimonial--we are the weight loss camp where doctors and weight loss specialists send their own children. We can provide you with parents who have been to other weight loss camps, but only had long term weight loss success with us! With our weight loss camp, what you see is what you get! And because of this family bond, we are also the camp that keeps on caring even after you have quit paying us!



If you want to finally be successful and lose weight then Camp Jump Start----a weight loss camp for kids is for you. Even if you have been to other weight loss camps---there is no other weight loss camp like Camp Jump Start. All kids that have come to our camp have been successful in weight loss, but more importantly kids like who they become. We’re a weight loss camp, but weight loss is only one part of the awesome benefits you find here. Camp Jump Start can help you become the BEST YOU there is! You can make the best friends of your life here because we keep camp small enough that you know everyone and they know you. They also understand that everyone at camp is working towards the same goal of weight loss and no one is allowed to make fun of others. In fact, we help you find the things that you are good at doing and help you believe in your own possibilities. It is a great way to spend the summer and you will see what a difference a summer can make!



Camp Jump Start is a FUN weight loss camp for kids. It is one of the health camps located at the Living Well Village in Imperial, Missouri. Camp Jump Start specifically helps kids lose weight. The Living Well Village houses health camps and wellness programs. The Living Well Village is NOT a Fat Camp, NOT a Boot Camp and NOT a teen diet camp. It is a simple, but comfortable camp with modern air-conditioned dorms/cabins and indoor plumbing with private showers and toilets. This camp is an American Camp Association accredited camp. Our 250 acre property provides endless possibilities for recreational fun and opportunities for programs like our health camps, and residential weight loss camps for kids and weight loss camps for adults. Parent-child weight loss camps, family weight loss camps or mini weight loss vacations are available at the Living Well Village through WIT--Wellness in Teens, Tweens or Tots programs.



Camp Jump Start is the residential summer weight loss camp for kids ages 9-17 years old. We provide a safe environment along with quality programming to develop campers’ knowledge and abilities in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. We promote self-discipline and foster a positive self-image in aiding the camper in his or her development as a healthy, responsible and caring person. We strive to recognize and address the individual needs of each of our campers and guide each to reach their FULL potential.



Let our experienced professional staff guide your camper to weight loss through success in fitness activities, behavior modification, and nutritional education along with well-balanced, portion-controlled meals. Campers leave feeling empowered to make healthier choices in order to maintain weight loss.



Our founder, owner and director Jean Huelsing RN, BSN, MEd is the pioneer to the oldest and most esteemed health and weight loss camp for kids. Camp Jump Start is the FIRST health professional owned and operated weight loss camp in the nation. Jean raised the bar for all the old “fat camps” as they were called and she is proud that she has put pressure on the industry to do what is right for kids and families. When she worked one summer at one of the big business camps, she was horrified by the deceptive marketing. She too had been taken in by all the glitz and promises, so she understands the difficulty of deciding which weight loss camp is best. Seeing first hand how the weight loss industry operates, Jean decided to create a weight loss camp design that included reputable “best practices” and she has professionally trained staff to carry out the programs. Camp Jump Start health professional staff is on-site and are the same people year after year unlike the independent contractors at some camps. This is why Jean is considered the “expert by the experts” on weight loss camps especially weight loss camps for kids. She has written many articles about her work which have been translated into many languages.




Health Begins with Youth: Get Your Kids Moving Now

[More Kids Health Articles...]

Camp Jump Start specifically helps kids lose weight.



Significant weight loss occurs at Camp Jump Start, but “it is the self-esteem and self-confidence that is key for long term weight loss success,” says Mama Jean as the kids lovingly call her.



Camp Jump Start is a healing place for campers and staff alike. Campers are taught personal responsibility in the care of their beings—whether about weight loss or not. Campers take control and choose how they will carry themselves throughout their life.



At Camp Jump Start, it does not feel like a weight loss camp. You receive the expertise of health professionals at a camp rate. And it does not feel clinical either. It is FUN!

Our staff has extensive experience in the successful treatment of childhood obesity and the prevention of diseases associated with childhood obesity. This is evidenced by scientific articles reporting positive outcomes in their four week to eight week weight loss camp with long-term follow-up, as well as recognition from the National Institutes of Health, Cooper Institute and the National Institute on Children’s Healthcare Quality. Jean presented outcomes from weight loss camp at a national congress in 2006 in Washington DC. She is a partner in the St. Louis Regional Youth Health and Wellness Initiative and the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicagoland Children. She has spoken at the American Camp Association Midstates Conference. St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Cardinal Glennon have conducted research evaluating programs and outcomes along with other health-related studies during weight loss camp.



Jean is dedicated to teaching kids. She was a lead facilitator at the St. Louis RAMS NFL Teen Summit. She is the St. Louis Regional American Heart Association media spokesperson for the “Go Healthy Challenge” part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Jean is a leader in the grassroots effort to improve the health of children and families which includes the prevention of the complications due to obesity through weight loss.



Anyone can say they are successful with weight loss, but Camp Jump Start has proven it.

We are the FIRST weight loss camp to make public our evidence-based outcomes to support our claim of success. We have independent sources that “looked over our shoulder” and our success is then evidenced through the many consumer and scientific articles written about our results. We have had peer review articles in medical journals, but what is most important to us is the ripple effect of what we do. We congratulate Mark Martin on his remarkable transformation and weight loss. Mark is the father of a camper who taught her family about health, fitness, nutrition, and healthy weight loss after she attended Camp Jump Start. Mark’s weight loss was 150 pounds and he gave up smoking. He began to run and has competed in nationwide marathons. He is a weight loss role model. (Photos here and here.)