Dateline NBC followed four students over a five-month period at Academy of the Sierras and aired their inspiring success stories on August 19, 2005.

Stone Phillips introduced the story: "It's one of the biggest health risks facing teenagers today...9 million teens are struggling with life-threatening obesity."

Meet the Teens on Dateline NBC's website>>

Dan Kirschenbaum, Clinical Director of AOS, said, "The stakes couldn't be higher. I've worked in this field for over 30 years and I've seen people in their teens and early twenties who've died from heart attacks."

Academy students told Dateline what it is like to be severely overweight.

"Most people don't understand what it's like to be overweight...It almost feels like people think of you as not even human," said Jonny, a high school senior whose goal was to lose 100 pounds at Academy of the Sierras.

"I've been telling myself that my weight is not a problem. I've been telling myself that I don't care. I've been telling myself that it doesn't matter to me...It's hard to come here and realize that it really does matter to me," said Shari, who wanted to lose 50 pounds while at AOS.

A mother told Dateline why she sent her daughter to AOS.

"I don't want anything to stand in the way for her. And the one thing that would potentially stand in the way is the weight, because I've seen it stand in the way for me."

Dateline focused on the Academy's belief that students need to deal with not only their weight, but the "emotional weight" that they mask with overeating and other self-defeating behaviors.

"At AOS they say obesity is a mask, something that covers up emotional problems. If they don't take off the mask, they won't take off the pounds. At least not permanently."

Jonny discovered how self-defeating this masking of emotional and behavioral problems can be. He broke the rules at AOS and risked expulsion. The clinical staff at AOS decided that if Jonny successfully completed a month at Aspen Education Group's wilderness therapy program Lone Star Expeditions in Texas he could continue at the Academy. He returned a month later with a new outlook on life.

Molly Carmel, Deputy Clinical Director of AOS, knows where these teens are coming from. She once weighed 300 pounds. She told Dateline, "This is not the end of their life. This is the beginning of their life. This is not a death sentence. This is like the happiest moment. This is great for them. We're saving lives here."

After 5 months, the students reported their successes. The three young women had lost 60, 61, and 86 pounds. The young man had lost 115 pounds.

As the teens celebrated graduation, Dateline commented, "Just a bunch of teenagers acting like teeangers. Together they lost more than 300 pounds, and together they gained a new way of life."

Dateline has since followed up with the students who graduated in June. Since graduation, the four have continued to lose weight - at least 7 pounds each.