TORONTO - As health officials sound alarm bells about "epidemic" obesity in children, concerned Canadian parents are shelling out thousands of dollars to send their children to U.S. camps designed to help them shed pounds.

The handful of so-called fat camps that operated in Canada closed up shop in the '80s, after a growing awareness of anorexia nervosa made them seem "politically incorrect," said a spokeswoman for the Canadian Camping Association. Proponents of the weight-loss camps in the U.S. say the industry has evolved and plays an important role in helping obese children adopt a healthier lifestyle.

"It used to be a real vanity thing; teenage girls doing crash diets so they could fit into nice clothes," said Tony Sparber, owner of the California-based New Image weight-loss camps that draw 800 kids every summer. About 40 Canadian kids are making the trek south for his program this year.

"Today it's a serious health issue and the stigma is gone. There's no shame in battling this problem," he said.

Weight-loss camp directors said they now recognize the links between self-esteem, body image and the motivation to drop pounds.

"There's a lot of emotional stuff wrapped up in all of this," said David Ettenberg, director of weight-loss-oriented Camp Shane in New York State's Catskill Mountains. He will be welcoming 21 Canadian campers this summer.

Like most modern American weight-loss camps, Camp Shane is staffed with guidance counsellors, nutritionists and accredited fitness trainers. They subscribe to a more down-to-earth, holistic approach, rejecting crash and fad diets.

Marc Manoli, director of Camp Kingsmont in Massachusetts where 25 Canadian kids will try to shed pounds this year, said in order for weight loss to be long term, kids must make a lifestyle change, and they need major support and education to do it.

"We certainly didn't do all this counselling stuff 30 years ago. Now we talk with the kids about how they see themselves, what they like about themselves and sharing what they like about each other."

When kids learn to love themselves, they will develop a desire to treat their body properly, Manoli said.

The philosophy worked for a 13-year-old who was being ridiculed at school for being overweight.

"The kids at school were being nasty. But no one teases at camp. I could just be myself and have fun."

She went to nutrition class once a week, where she said she learned lessons on how to eat healthy at home.

"That was pretty fun. You say what you usually eat at home and they say whether or not it's healthy and tell you how to change it."

Manoli said many of the kids he sees are classic couch potatoes who spend their free time watching TV and playing video games.

He said a big goal at his camp is to teach kids to love being active and realize how much better they feel when they are.

"For one activity at camp, we hauled a couch out and lit in on fire." Manoli said it was a fun, empowering and symbolic way to exorcize their sedentary ways.

There is also a focus on artistic activities. "We want kids to succeed," said Ettenberg. "I don't care if it's at pottery or dance, as long as they get that ego boost."

Most weight-loss camps in the U.S. follow the American equivalent of the Healthy Food Guide. Three meals covering all the food groups are served every day, plus two snacks.

"It's not radical, it's not magical. It's simple nutrition, learning how to eat well, balance your diet and exercise," said Ettenberg. "Then you really can eat your favourite foods."

About one-quarter of Canadian children are considered obese, a rate that has tripled since 1981, according to research published in late 2000 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Experts don't believe the trend has topped out.

Gennie Altman, a Montreal mother who has spent thousands of dollars to send her three kids to Camp Shane this summer, said she is frustrated by the lack of services in Canada.

"There's nothing. There aren't even a lot of good nutritionists and when they get home from camp, there aren't any exercise classes for kids to help them keep the weight off."

The Canadian Camping Association said weight-loss camps don't fit with the mission statement of Canadian summer camps.

"Fat camps have such a negative stigma," said Erin Walton, a spokeswoman for the association. "I can only imagine what it would be like to get all excited about camp and then you get there and everyone's self esteem is at rock bottom and all they talk about is 'let's work out and not eat.' "

She said of the association's 600 member-camps, none offer weight-loss programs.

"There used to be some in Canada, but I guess enrolment wasn't high enough and it became too politically incorrect," said Walton. "People just decided they weren't cool."

But she adds she does get calls from parents who are looking for a weight-loss camp for their child.

Dr. Claire LeBlanc, head of the Canadian Pediatric Society committee on healthy children, said there is a place for weight-loss camps, but she worries they only provide short term results.

"It's a controlled environment. It would be pretty hard to maintain the weight loss without all the activities and the diet," she said.

The association recommends kids engage in physical activity for 90 minutes a day.

She admitted that with physical education classes cut back in some schools and user fees introduced at some community recreation centres, some kids have trouble finding ways of being active for 90 minutes a day.