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. 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 [Ryan 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 Coo...

Nation's First Therapeutic Boarding School for Overweight Teens, Academy of the Sierras, to Open in September