Big Sisters partnering with Heart & Stroke Foundation to battle obesity

Heart and Stroke Foundation
News Release

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Poor self-esteem and a negative body image is putting North Bay girls in the fast lane for heart disease. That’s why the Heart and Stroke Foundation is making advocacy funding available to the Big Sister Go Girls! Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds program.

A grant of $4,000 from the Foundation has been made to the innovative program which is playing a crucial role in boosting the self image of girls aged 10-14 in North Bay and district.

“The Big Sisters and the Heart and Stroke Foundation are natural partners,” says Sharon Brodovsky, Senior Manager of the Foundation’s Healthy Weights Initiative, the special Foundation project team set up to tackle the problem of overweight and obesity in children.

“We went looking for people who would advocate for kids at risk,” says Brodovsky. “We certainly found them in North Bay and district.”

“When you have issues with your body, it affects many aspects of your life,” says Darlene Jamieson, spokesperson for the Big Sisters.

“Girls in the 10-14 year age group are constantly exposed to the message from advertisers and television that self respect depends on beauty. As a result, they are terribly tough on themselves and can adopt inappropriate and dangerous attitudes to food – either by overeating or depriving themselves,” Jamieson says.

The Big Sisters initiative is an advocacy campaign aimed at convincing schools to alter their policies to more fully accommodate specialized groups that reach out to at-risk children.

The Go Girls! Program is all about friendship and mentoring in a non-threatening environment. Casual, informal groups are led by specially trained supervisors, many of whom are students from Nipissing University.

Nutrition, exercise, journal keeping, and communication skills are all part of a “let’s have fun” curriculum.

“This advocacy grant will help us expand the program further into rural areas,” says Jamieson.

Obesity epidemic

An epidemic of obesity is now the number one threat to the health of Canadian children,” says Sharon Brodovsky.

“Physical activity – along with healthy eating – is the most effective way of dealing with this disaster in the making,” she says. “The Heart and Stroke Foundation likes what’s happening in North Bay. It’s a wonderful example of local initiative.”

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy.

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