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Media Room » Questions & Answers for Healthy Girls

Q: What is Healthy Girls?

Healthy Girls is an innovative new program designed by a physical therapist to address the ever-changing and challenging nutrition and fitness needs of our preteen and early teen girls. We want to empower our girls by teaching them fun and effective lifelong fitness programs, healthy food choices and positive self esteem. Healthy Girls specifically provides fun fitness programs that include yoga, exercise ball, aerobics, step classes, strength training and more. We know that adult women tend to keep in shape by doing these type of activities and we know that our younger generation of future women can only benefit by learning these skills early. We are always positive and noncompetitive.

Q: Is this specifically for over-weight girls or those with weight-management issues?

Not at all. So many girls can benefit from our programming. Our classes will provide overall conditioning for girls who have not traditionally been as active, as well as provide foundational stretching, strengthening for even the competitive athlete. Basically, we are a program that can benefit any girl interested in improving her health and physical fitness level. Again, we are always noncompetitive and positive. We want to see all shapes and sizes of girls. We emphasize, in our educational program, that we each have different body types and our goal is to make good choices when it comes to how we exercise, eat and treat our bodies. We understand that, similar to adult women at an exercise club, each girl (& parent) will come with different goals in mind. We have questionnaires that parents and girls will complete so we will be able to keep each individual goals in mind when working with our clients.

Q: How do you incorporate nutritional education into the classes? 

In each class, we leave time to talk about whatever our "theme" is and nutrition.  We incorporate the information in to lessons like a short skit, a game or simply a group discussion.

Q: What is in your "kit"?

Our kit is an all inclusive fitness program. We had such fun developing and producing this program. It is an act of true passion for educating girls about health and fitness. We, as always, emphasize making good choices. Our kit includes: an exercise DVD featuring ball exercise and yoga, a 55cm exercise ball and foot pump, a health and fitness booklet written for girls and an exercise poster. We are very excited to offer this program.

Q: How do you incorporate self-esteem building in your program?

We address the esteem issues in the same way as nutrition, through skits, short presentations and small group discussions.  We're also always very positive and we make sure we tell the girls what a great job they're doing and just how special they are.

 

Here are some FREE articles for your education and your use:

Michael P. Scaccia, MD, FAAP is a physician, child health expert, and author of "The Ultimate Parent Guide to Fitness and Nutrition". From nutrition to fitness and beyond, this powerful, step-by-step guide is a must-have for concerned parents of overweight children. Dr. Scaccia is in private practice in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Trans Fat: What is it, and Why Your Family Should Avoid It
As of January 2006, the United States government has made it mandatory for all manufacturers to show trans fat content on the Nutrition Facts food label. What are trans fats, and what role do they play in child nutrition? Trans fats are made by manufacturing during a process called hydrogenation. Food manufacturers will add hydrogen to oils in order to increase shelf life and improve flavor stability. ...more

Adolescent Nutrition: Teen Challenges and How to Face Them
Teen nutrition can be very difficult to manage as a parent. Let’s face it, teens in general can be difficult to manage at times. There are plenty of obstacles that stand in the way of making sure that your teenager is eating healthy: Teens spend more time out of the house and on their own than younger children. They are making choices for themselves, often based on convenience and the “hip factor”. ...more

Cut the Calories: 3 Easy Methods
Here are a couple of quick and easy ways to reduce the calories your child consumes:
Change to diet drinks. When I counsel my patients and their families, I stress the importance of making small changes slowly to maximize your chances of long-term success. A relatively small change that offers great rewards is simply changing from regular sugared drinks to sugar-free.  ...more

Nutrition Articles and Books: What Should You Believe?
Nutrition Articles are a dime a dozen. Type any nutrition-related keyword into a major search engine and you’re bound to find tens of thousands of search results. With all of that information out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Which nutrition articles are worth reading? What books can help you reach your goals? ...more

Nutrition for Kids: How to Teach Your Children About Healthy Eating
You realize that nutrition for kids is important, but you’re not sure how to teach your child to make better food choices. Now what? Here are a few suggestions to help educate your child about nutrition and how it relates to their overall health: ...more

The Food Pyramid: Making It Work for You and Your Family
The food pyramid is a tool designed by nutrition experts that the United States Department of Agriculture promotes to help people make better, more nutritious food choices. The food pyramid underwent a big change when the U.S. government updated its dietary guidelines in 2005. ...more

Portion Control: How to Help Your Child Eat Less
Portion control is an important factor in the child obesity struggle. Taming out of control calorie intake can be challenging for parents. I’m asked all the time by parents in my office what some effective ways are to help keep portion size down and reduce those extra calories. Here are a few suggestions: ...more

Nutrition Facts, Restaurants, and Your Family
Nutrition Articles are a dime a dozen. Type any nutrition-related keyword into a major search engine and you’re bound to find tens of thousands of search results. With all of that information out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Which nutrition articles are worth reading? ...more