Road of Life is piloting a Girl’s Program to address the health needs of girls and young women.  ROL is currently seeking funding resources and developmental opportunities; contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.  Read more about the ROL Girl’s Program below.

Road of Life Girl’s Program Resource Guide

     Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids is a 501 (c) 3 for-impact organization with the mission to eradicate preventable cancer and diseases of excess by educating children about the lifestyle and nutrition decisions they can make to lead healthier lives.  Road of Life is developing a program specifically targeting girls.  This program will teach girls about the importance of physical activity, good mental health, a nutritious diet and encourage parents and caregivers to be involved in their girl’s life.

Why Target Girls?

     Currently, girls are more overweight than ever before and are more likely to be obese or overweight than young boys.  A study conducted over a period of 20 years found “five per cent of the ten-year-old girls in the 2002 survey had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30, compared with one per cent in 1982.  However, the level for boys actually fell from two per cent in 1982 to one per cent in 2002.”[i]  The study attributes the increase in childhood obesity to recent changes in lifestyles and environments for children but does not cite an explicit reason why girls are more likely to be obese than boys.

     Children’s BMI are steadily on the rise, especially for girls.  In a study done in 2002, about 30 percent of ten year-old girls had a BMI of over 25, compared with 14 percent of girls in 1982.i  This is significant because childhood health impacts health as an adult.  If a girl is overweight as a teenager, she is more likely to be overweight or obese as an adult and “being overweight as a pre-teen makes it 11 to 30 times more likely that you will be obese as an adult, and this is also associated with an increased risk of heart disease.”ii  The same study found that African American girls in the study were more likely to be overweight than Caucasian girls.  Seven percent of Caucasian girls studied were overweight in their preteens, rising to 10 percent as they became adults.  Of the African American girls, 17 percent were overweight by age 9 and that number rose to 24 percent as they became adults.ii  African-American girls have a high prevalence of being overweight, with nearly 38% overweight or at risk for overweight.  “This increased tendency to remain overweight is evident in African-American girls because estimates suggest three-fourths of African-American women are overweight or obese.”[ii]

     Prevention is important because overweight and obesity can lead to chronic diseases and health problems and being overweight or obese as a teenager also increases one’s chance of disease later in life.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “17 per cent of US adolescents are overweight, and 61 per cent of these have at least one factor, like high blood pressure or cholesterol, that increases risk of heart disease in later life.”ii

     New research has shown that girls who are overweight reach puberty earlier than girls who are of average weight.  In fact, “some public health experts are convinced that the average age of puberty, compared with a few decades ago, already has gotten younger by several months.”[iii]  Researchers have also found that “girls who are overweight at the age of three run the risk of reaching puberty as early as nine years old and warn that the obesity crisis is now affecting children’s development.”[iv]  This finding is significant because when puberty begins earlier, it increases the long-term exposure to estrogen.  This is associated with a higher relative risk of breast cancer in later life.iv  Preliminary findings in a study centered on breast cancer in relation to obesity have suggested that African American and Latina girls have a higher prevalence of early puberty onset which increases their chances of getting breast cancer as adults.[v]

     A study by van Dam et al. has shown that a girl in her teens who is obese has a much greater chance of dying during middle age than a girl who is not obese.  Van Dam et al. found that “those who were obese at 18 were three times as likely to die at middle age compared to those who were of normal weight at 18.”[vi]  This was after van Dam et al. made adjustments for cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity during adolescence.  As childhood obesity increases in the United States, the life-expectancy for the next generation could be lower than preceding generations.

What Are Some Causes of Childhood Obesity in Girls?

     There are certain lifestyle choices that affect childhood obesity in girls.  Television viewing often replaces physical activity.  Girls are less physically active and spend more time watching television and playing video games than reading and doing homework.  Children who watch several hours of television a day are more likely to be obese than children who do not.vii  This is in part because, “foods are the most heavily advertised products on television, and television viewing time is associated with between-meal snacking.”[vii]

     Women in general are more sedentary than men and, “even lower levels of physical activity are reported among women in many ethnic minority groups.  Relative to boys and men, girls and women lack encouragement, facilities, and role models for leisure time athletics.”[viii]  Girls, especially girls who belong to minority groups, are less likely to receive the support and encouragement to pursue physical activity.

Is There a Solution?

     Road of Life is developing a program geared specifically for young girls.  Girls need to learn healthy habits early in life and maintain those habits.  For example, as found by the American Institute for Cancer Research, eating fruits and vegetables could prevent 33 percent to 50 percent of all breast cancers and eating fiber could prevent 10 percent to 20 percent of breast cancers.[ix]  Physically active women have up to a 40 percent reduced risk of developing breast cancer.[x]  To incorporate this knowledge into daily living and lifestyle choices creates the potential for a large impact in preventing childhood obesity.

     Parent or caregiver involvement is incredibly important for girls.  A study conducted on African American girls and their parents found that girls were more likely to be physically active if their parents supported and encouraged them to be active.  Parents should consider that their behavior strongly influences their daughters’ behavior.  Likewise, studies have shown that mothers and daughters have dissimilar perceptions about the daughter’s body.  “While daughters usually see themselves accurately in terms of weight, their mothers tend to be more likely to visualize them as thinner than they are.”[xi]  Though this may help a girl’s positive body image, it may also limit a mother’s ability to identify weight issues early.  Mothers should be made aware of healthy weight ranges and body compositions for young girls.

     Parents, especially mothers, play an important role in how girls perceive health.  A 2006 study found that mothers’ behavior strongly impacts daughters’ health.  “The daughters of women who consume juice, flavored drinks and sodas are more likely to consume the same types of drinks and are at an increased risk of being overweight.”[xii]  The study also concluded that mothers’ exercise habits influenced the levels of their daughters’ physical activity.  Road of Life’s Girls Program would teach girls and their parents or caregivers how to cultivate healthy lifestyles together and have fun at the same time.

     Mother-daughter support groups have seen success.  For example, SuEllen Hamkins, a psychiatrist, began a mother-daughter group for her daughter and her group of friends.  The group started when the girls were seven years old because the mothers were worried about becoming estranged from their daughters as the girls became teenagers.  The mothers wanted to show the girls they could have fun together.  One girl stated that it helped to see her mother interact with other people and see her outside the context of being only a mother.  The group stayed together over a ten year period and both mothers and daughters reported a closeness and understanding that prepared the girls for adulthood.[xiii]

Where Would the Girls Program Be Used?

     Road of Life’s Girls Program is designed to be used within groups and activities that are specifically geared for girls.  Road of Life is partnering with the Girl Scouts, the Columbus School for Girls, local domestic violence shelters and other organizations that impact girls.  The program will also be used in the home to encourage mothers to take an active role in their daughters’ lives.  However, Road of Life’s Girls Program will not be exclusive to mothers and daughters but encourages and supports parents and caregivers to take an active role in their girls’ lives.

 Works Cited

[i] "Significant Rise in Childhood Obesity, Especially Among Girls, Shown by 20-Year Study." Medical News Today. 20 Apr. 2007. 17 Apr. 2007 <www.medicalnewstoday.com>.

[ii] Adkins, Sarah, Nancy E. Sherwood, Mary Story,  and Marsha Davis. "Physical Activity Among African-American Girls: the Role of Parents and the Home Environment." Obesity Research 12 (2004):  38s-45s.

[iii] Norris, Jeffrey. "Puberty, Obesity, Environment and Breast Cancer." University of California, San Francisco. 19 Mar. 2007. 16 Aug. 2007 <http://pub.ucsf.edu>.

[iv] "Obesity Epidemic Fuelling Premature Puberty in Girls." News-Medical. 5 Mar. 2007. 17 Aug. 2007 <www.news-medical.net>.

[v] Claudio, Luz. "Centered on Breast Cancer." Environmental Health Perspectives 115 (2007):  a132-a133.

[vi] "Obese Teenage Girls Have High Risk of Middle Age Death." Medical News Today. 18 July 2006. 22 Aug. 2006 <www.medicalnewstoday.com>.

[vii] Gormaker, Steven L., Karen Peterson, Jean Wiecha, Arthur M. Sobol, Sujata Dixit, Mary Kay Fox, and Nan Laird. "Reducing Obesity Via a School-Based Interdiscilinary Intervention Among Youth." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent  Medecine 153 (1999):  409-418. 11 July 2007 <www.archpediatrics.com>.

[viii] Yancey, Antronette K., Joanne Leslie, and Emily K. Abel. "Obesity At the Crossroads: Feminist and Public Health Perspectives." Journal of Women in Culture and Society 31 (2006):  425-443. 22 Aug. 2007 <www.ascls.org>.

[ix] “Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective.” American Institute for Cancer Research, 1997.

[x] National Cancer Institute.  “Physical Activity and Cancer: Questions and Answers.”  National Institutes of Health, 2004.  www.cancer.gov.

[xi] "Mother/Daughter Body Image Perception Differs." Medical News Today. 2 Nov. 2006. 23 Aug. 2007 <www.medicalnewstoday.com>.

[xii] "Mothers' Health Behavior Has Strong Influence on Daughters' Health, Nutrition, Studies Say." Medical News Today. 28 Sept. 2007. 23 Aug. 2007 <www.medicalnewstoday.com>.

[xiii] Neighmond, Patricia. "Support Group Strengthens Mother-Daughter Bond." National Public Radio. 10 Aug. 2007. 10 Aug. 2007 <www.npr.org>.