Political Quotes

“America is confronting a childhood obesity crisis, and over the past 25 years, the percentage of overweight girls has more than doubled--to 16 percent of girls ages 6 to 19, up from 6 percent in 1974. To support the search for a solution, the Girl Scout Research Institute asked girls directly how they define health and what motivates them to lead a healthier lifestyle. The results are captured in a new report, titled The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living. This new report brings the voice of girls to the forefront of the conversation on childhood obesity for the first time and finds that girls are in many ways ahead of the curve, using a varied, complex set of norms to define health. Today's girls are defining ``health'' on their own terms, placing the same value on emotional well-being and self-esteem as they do on diet and exercise. For girls, being healthy is more than just eating right and exercising; it is also about feeling good about oneself and being supported by family and peers. Girls say that efforts to reduce childhood and adolescent obesity that focus solely on nutrition or physical activity miss the mark. The study lays out four key findings: One, girls aspire to be ``normal healthy,'' a concept they often associate with appearing normal and being supported by peers and family. Girls tended to view any diet or lifestyle choice as healthy as long as it doesn't harm their appearance or their relationships with friends and family.…”