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Media Releases
Fighting
Childhood Obesity & Body Image
Girl Scouts Participate in Healthy
"U" -- Healthy Me Event
Media Contact:
Ann Marie van den Hurk, APR
302-456-7170
avandenhurk@cbgsc.org
Newark, DE,
January 18, 2005:
As a part of the Building U project
for healthy lifestyles, Girl Scouts from all age levels will
participate in a program on February 5, 2005 from 9:00 am to Noon
at the Girl Scout Resource Center, 501 S. College Ave., Newark, DE. Healthy "U" -- Healthy Me
will allow girls to have hands-on activities such as making healthy
snacks, fun exercises, learn how to say no to drugs and tobacco,
learn from Folic Acid Woman, and create healthy art displays to
share with other kids.
Why is Girl Scouts speaking out
about health of girls? The facts regarding the health of girls today
are striking:
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15.1% of 15 year-old girls are
overweight compared to 10.8% of 13 year-old girls.
-
Teen girls account for 58 percent of
new AIDS cases reported among young people ages 13-19.
-
Girls are beginning to drink at
younger ages. In the 1960’s, 7 percent of new female users of
alcohol were between the ages of 10 and 14, compared to 31 percent
by the early 1990’s.
-
Dissatisfaction with body image
increases as girls progress into adolescence. While 75 percent of
third graders agree with the statement “I like the way I look,”
only 56 percent of seventh graders agree.
Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council launched
Building U, a Delmarva
Peninsula-wide community service project for Girl Scouts, their
families, and communities to learn about healthy lifestyles through
age specific activities. Building U will focus on fitness,
health, and community service.
In the 2002 report, New Directions for Girls 11-17, both Girl
Scouts and non-Girl Scouts expressed a strong interest in:
self-defense, exercise/fitness, sports, healthy eating habits, and
cooking. Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council is promoting
health and fitness to girls through age specific activities and
resources on
www.girlscoutschesapeakebay.org. Some of the activities are:
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In the Zone - drug prevention
program
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Walk in Juliette’s Shoes - a walking
program for girls and families
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Think Pink - partnering with Biden
Breast Health Initiative
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Life 101 - Teen Health Fair
covering stress management, AIDS education, date rape
-
Go Girl, Go! - girls 3-8 aged learn
about body image, bullying, diversity, drugs, & stress
-
Fit
for a Princess - for girls age 8-11 focusing on eating smart and
being active
-
Delaware Lt. Governor’s Fitness Challenge
The Girl Scout Research Institute
Weighing In: Helping Girls Be Healthy Today, Healthy tomorrow
identified key research trends for youth in the areas of health,
nutrition, and physical activity as they relate to child obesity and
weight issues focusing on gender and cultural issues.
Girl Scouts has had a long history of
offering generations of girls inventive programs in sports,
nutrition, and health starting with the founder, Juliette Gordon
Low, who encouraged girls in 1912 to “eat well and get their heart
and blood in working order.”
Many girls today have needs that aren’t being met, and we at the
Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council are stepping up to the
plate to address the needs of girls by providing programs that
develop strong values and life skills and using over voice to
elevate awareness of the needs of girls.
Please join the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council in
empowering young women to live fit and healthy. Building U is a
follow-up to the violence prevention program, From Girl Scouts
with L.O.V.E (learning to overcome violence everywhere.)
Building U Fact Sheet
How Families
Can Promote Healthy Lifestyles
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