Adolescent Girls' Web Site

In keeping with the mission statement of the Office on Women's Health (OWH) of improving the health of women across their life span from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, OWH developed a health information website for adolescent girls. This site (www.girlshealth.gov), which will continue to expand to new topics, focuses on friends and family relationships, trust, sexuality, violence and abuse, peer pressure, and self-esteem. The site is a resource that responds to adolescent girls' health concerns. The purpose of the site is to motivate girls to choose healthy behaviors without  a tedious "you should do this" message. A specialty section on Disabilities and Chronic Illness will be featured on the website. The Office on Women's Health partnered with FDA to develop a Girl Power! component to the current "Take Time to Care" project. This project is aimed at older women to raise awareness of using medications wisely and properly. The disability and chronic illness section of Girl Power! targets girls ages 9 – 14 and focuses on how to handle hospital visits, how to talk to your doctor, and how to tell your friends about your illness or disability, along with other vital information for this population.

BodyWise Eating Disorder Educational Campaign (archive)

Team Leader: Ann Abercrombie, MLS

Eating Disorders are disabling illnesses that affect between 1-3 percent of young women in the United States. Congress, in the report language of Health and Human Services (HHS ) Appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, directed the Office on Women's Health (OWH) to "develop a national media campaign targeting, but not limited to adolescent girls and women, to educate the public about healthy eating behavior". OWH is sponsoring the BodyWise Eating Disorder Educational Campaign (archive) targeting middle school educators and providers. The goal of the program is to increase awareness and knowledge of eating disorders, including their signs and symptoms, steps to take when concerned about students, and ways to promote healthy eating and reduce preoccupation with weight and size. An information packet is available that includes materials emphasizing the links among healthy eating, positive body image, and favorable learning outcomes, with some materials targeted to specific racial and ethnic groups.

BodyWorks: A Toolkit for Healthy Girls and Strong Women

BodyWorks Evaluation Final Report (PDF file, 3.14 Mb)

Team Leader: Ann Abercrombie, MLS

BodyWorks is a program designed to help parents and caregivers of young adolescent girls (ages 9 to 13) improve family eating and activity habits. Using the BodyWorks Toolkit, the program focuses on parents as role models and provides them with hands-on tools to make small, specific behavior changes to prevent obesity and help maintain a healthy weight.

The BodyWorks program uses a train-the-trainer model to distribute the Toolkit through community-based organizations, state health agencies, non-profit organizations, health clinics, hospitals and health care systems. The program includes one six-hour training module for trainers and ten 90-minute weekly sessions for parents and caregivers. The Office on Women's Health, developed BodyWorks following two years of formative research.

National Bone Health Campaign

The National Bone Health Campaign (NBHC) is a multiyear national campaign to promote optimal bone health, and thus reduce their risk of osteoporosis later in life. The goal is to educate and encourage girls to establish lifelong healthy habits, especially increased calcium consumption and physical activity to build and maintain strong bones. In addition to a focus on young women, the campaign will target adults who influence them, including parents, teachers, coaches, youth group leaders, and health care professionals.

To help extend the reach and impact of its messages, the NBHC is creating a national partnership network of Federal, state, and local government allies, and nonprofit organizations. The goal of this network is to facilitate resource and information sharing among a broad range of partner organizations across the country. Partners will be encouraged to incorporate bone health messages and activities into their existing programs and to share lessons learned.

This campaign is a unique public/nonprofit partnership among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Service's Office on Women's Health (OWH) and the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Visit the National Bone Health Campaign Web site.