WELCOME TO WELLSPRING ACADEMIES
Wellspring Academies are the world’s most effective programs for weight loss. Designed for children, teens, and young adults ages 11-24, students at our Academies demonstrate the best documented outcomes of any non-surgical weight loss intervention for any age group.
Wellspring Academies (formerly Academy of the Sierras) employ a scientifically based, clinically proven approach to weight loss. Wellspring promotes a healthy lifestyle through a low-fat diet program, activity management, and comprehensive cognitive-behavioral therapy. At our campuses in California and the Carolinas, Wellspring Academies have helped hundreds of students combat childhood obesity by transforming their bodies and lives.
Wellspring Academies are residential treatment schools for overweight teens and young adults. Students reside on campus and change their lifestyle, while continuing their middle school, high school, or college education. While Wellspring is a clinically-proven program, it is important to understand what Wellspring Academies (formerly Academy of the Sierras) do not promote:
Wellspring Academies are not fat camps. Studies show that fat camps, or weight loss camps, lead to short-term weight loss, but in the long run, the vast majority of students regain weight or gain even more weight than before attending the weight loss camp. Wellspring trains students to transform their bodies through teen diet, activity, and behavioral change, so they become long-term weight controllers.
Wellspring is not obesity surgery or bariatric surgery. For many, the idea of their child undergoing an expensive, intensive, and elective surgical intervention is frightening. Wellspring Academies provide more than children and teen weight loss results; cognitive-behavioral therapy and the immersion environment help change the way students think about diet and activity. At Wellspring, students receive comprehensive training and learn vital frustration tolerance and stress management skills that help improve their self-esteem and confidence, too.