USA Girl Scouts Overseas - North

Atlantic Action Plan

Timeline March 2011~ Development of Healthy Living program focus.

July 2011 ~ Distribute “Healthy Living, Stronger Together” program focus to 38 Overseas Committees in 8 countries.

USA Girl Scouts Overseas - North

Atlantic

•Every girl deserves to live a healthy life—emotionally and physically. •Whether they're working towards such earned grade-level awards as the Eat Right, Stay Healthy Try-It or the Stress Less Badge, or talking with leaders or advisors about issues of concern in their lives or in their communities. •Girl Scouts build the skills they need to keep their bodies healthy, their minds engaged and their spirits alive.

A Girl Scouts Overseas - North Atlantic

• Move away from the couch and onto the soccer field, yoga mat, and dance studio.

• Away from fast-food fries and the candy aisle into the kitchen creating banana smoothies and low-fat dips.

• Now that you've weighed both sides of the issue--your payoff and your tradeoff--it's time to make a choice. It's no longer an involuntary act because now you know that you are making a choice every time you perform this action. You are choosing what you value more: the payoff or the tradeoff!

• Substituting Better Behaviors

• Consistent Action:• Perseverance:

In the last two decades, obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents such that obesity is now the most chronic health

problem among American children.

• Like mother, like daughter: a mother's health status and attitude are strong indicators of whether her daughter will be overweight; satisfied with her body; physically active; and consider her mother a role model on healthy living.

• Active daughters are more likely to have active mothers.

• A daughter's dissatisfaction with her weight is greater if her mother is also dissatisfied with her own weight, in spite of how much a daughter actually weighs.

• The more physically active girls have:– greater their self-

esteem– more satisfaction with

their weight, regardless of how much they weigh.

• Eighty-three percent of very active girls say that physical activity makes them feel good about themselves.

(The Girl Scout Research Institute, The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living, 2006)

Girl Scouts of the USA Healthy Living Earned Age-Level Awards and Participation Patches

Healthy Habits• Do You Get the Message? ~ Girls improve

their communication and relationship skills.• Don’t Sweat It! ~ Girls develop stress

management skills.• From Stress to Success ~ Girls practice ways

to manage stress.• Frosty Fun ~ Girls examine fun activities for

winter days.• Healthy Relationships ~ Girls examine how to

build and maintain healthy relationships.• Hiker ~ Girls investigate nature and exercise

while hiking.• Horse Rider ~ Girls improve their horse riding

skills. • It’s Important to Me ~ Girls develop values

and learn to establish goals.• Looking Your Best ~ Girls study healthy

hygiene, hair, skin and nutritional habits.• Playing Around the World ~ Girls learn to play

games from other cultures.• Stress Less ~ Girls learn to relax.• The Choice Is Yours ~ Girls practice decision-

making skills to keep them healthy and safe.• Walking for Fitness ~ Girls practice staying fit

by walking.• Women’s Health ~ Girls build habits to lead a

fit life.

Healthy Development, Self-Esteem & Emotional Wellbeing

• Becoming a Teen ~ Girls study the developmental journey of becoming a teen.

• Being My Best ~ Girls investigate self-esteem and what it means to be their best.

• Brownie Try-Its for Ages 6 to 8 • Junior Badges for Ages 8 to 11 • Cadette & Senior Interest Projects for Ages 11 to

17 • Studio 2B Charms for Ages 11 to 17

Participation Patches for All Ages• Couch Potato ~ Girls discover the effects of TV

viewing, inactivity and girl portrayal.• Girl Scouts Against Smoking ~ Girls learn the

dangers of smoking.• In the Zone: Living Drug Free ~ Girls expand

their decision making to lead a drug-free lifestyle. • Shape Up ~ Girls improve their health by

engaging in a healthy lifestyle. • Uniquely ME! Inside and Out ~ Girls explore

body image, eating disorders and how to build self-esteem.

• Uniquely ME! The Real Deal ~ Girls build skills to cope with social pressures and feelings.

Throughout our 99-year history, Girl Scouts has offered innovative programs in sports, nutrition and health. Through this work, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has learned that comprehensive approaches are the most effective in combating obesity and instilling positive health choices: physical fitness must be combined with good nutrition, a healthy body image and an overall healthy lifestyle.

More than 60 age-level awards (badges, patches and charms) encourage girls to engage in a wide range of activities that teach them about healthy everyday habits, from getting enough exercise and sleep, to good hygiene and eating habits, to learning about diseases like breast cancer. Knowing that girls have a more complete view of health, Girl Scout awards also include activities that focus on self-esteem and emotional development to promote overall health and well-being. In addition, Girl Scouting provides safe places to play, exercise and socialize—critical for ensuring that girls develop healthy habits and form healthy relationships.

• Nutrition• Creative Cooking ~ Girls express themselves through

healthy cooking.• Eat Right, Stay Healthy ~ Girls study how what you eat

affects your health.• Food Power ~ Girls discover the benefits of eating a

balanced diet. • Let’s Get Cooking ~ Girls learn safe ways to prepare

delicious and healthy meals.• Make It, Eat It ~ Girls learn about nutrition by making

wholesome foods.• The Food Connection ~ Girls investigate how to make

healthy food choices.

• Sports• Adventure Sports ~ Girls investigate adventure activities like kayaking and

climbing. • Court Sports ~ Girls improve their skills in basketball, tennis and volleyball.• Dancercize ~ Girls explore the world of dance.• Field Sports ~ Girls acquire skills for field sports.• GirlSports ~ Girls develop basic sports skills like stretching, throwing and

kicking.• On the Court ~ Girls enhance their skills playing court sports like basketball

and tennis.• On the Playing Field ~ Girls learn sports such as soccer and field hockey.• On Track ~ Girls consider running as part of their fitness routine. • Sports and Games ~ Girls discover how sports and games are a great way to

exercise.• Sports for Life ~ Girls enrich their physical and mental health through sports. • Sports Sampler ~ Girls survey different sports and activities. • Swimming ~ Girls increase their swimming skills.• The GirlSports Fun and Fitness Patch ~ Girls discover fitness can be fun.• Winter Sports ~ Girls evaluate winter sports such as ice skating and ice

hockey.

• Physical Fitness• A Healthier You ~ Girls develop good habits for a fun and

healthy life.• Backpacking ~ Girls enjoy nature while building stamina.• Dance ~ Girls discover different dance styles and steps.• Fun and Fit ~ Girls investigate how to be fit by making the

right daily choices. • Healthy Habits ~ Girls examine the importance of

exercise, sleepand cleanliness.• High Adventure ~ Girls try their hand at canoeing, ropes

courses, rock climbing and more.• High on Life ~ Girls experience healthy activities for a

natural “high.”• Highway to Health ~ Girls learn the body’s warning signs

of neglect.• Horse Sense ~ Girls build their riding skills and other horse

related activities.• In the Pink ~ Girls research breast cancer and its effects.• Invitation to the Dance ~ Girls learn to express

themselves through dancing.• Paddle, Pole and Roll ~ Girls experience skills related to

water craft activities.• Rolling Along ~ Girls exercise by in-line skating,

skateboarding and cycling.• Small Craft ~ Girls learn about boating and sailing.• Smooth Sailing ~ Girls improve their sailing skills and

safety.• The American Volkssport Association Patch ~ Girls

survey the German walking sport.• Water Fun ~ Girls develop water safety skills and play

water games. • Water Sports ~ Girls enhance their knowledge and health

through water sports.

The Girl Scouts could only play outdoors if there were curtains around the court that could be drawn to shield anyone from seeing the girls play in their bloomers.

1912 2010

As a Family

Step No.1: Make It ConsciousThe first step is to figure out when -- and what – you want to do

as a family. For example: go for a Sunday afternoon walk.

Step No. 2: Put It in Writing or Log it What, when are you doing your activity and did you do! Make

it your track record.Write out a list of the pros and cons of this family activity and

keep a record of when you do it. Measurement of anything tends to change it and makes people much more aware in the first place.

Step No. 3: CelebrateOnce you realize when and why you improving your habits,

how do you like it?

I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our

wisdom, its power with our purpose. John F. Kennedy

or If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.

Henry Ford