GoGirlGo! Local Teens Get Active and Get Fit

San Jose, CA - School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County, in partnership with the newly formed Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative, will launch GoGirlGo!, a program of the Women's Sports Foundation, at W.C. Overfelt High School on April 14, 2005 .

Across the nation, obesity is one of the most serious health concerns facing our population. An alarming 15% of adolescents 12-17 years are overweight, and of that number 80% have the potential to become obese adults. According to the Surgeon General, approximately 300,000 U.S. residents die every year because of preventable weight-related problems. Left alone, obesity may soon cause more death and disease than cigarette smoking.

With the support of Kaiser Permanente, School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County recently launched a pilot program at Overfelt High School to address adolescent obesity. The program contains components on physical activity, nutrition, and peer education. To provide the physical activity component, School Health Clinics and the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative will offer GoGirlGo! - an eight-week after-school program that utilizes stories from professional women athletes to encourage young women ages 13-18 to get active, and to stay active for life.

Many young women long to participate in some type of organized sport but feel they're "not qualified." Perhaps they are overweight, perhaps their grades preclude them from participating on a team sport, or perhaps their family doesn't have the financial means to support their team participation. It is these girls who will benefit from participating on the GoGirlGo! fitness team at Overfelt High School .

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), regular physical activity has several health benefits. In addition to helping to maintain or promote healthy bones, muscles, and joints, physical activity also reduces symptoms and/or risks for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.

The Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative, led by Executive Director Marlene Bjornsrud, is a non-profit organization that strives to build an environment in which girls can become and remain an integral part of the Bay Area sports culture. In partnership with women athletes, the organization is focused on five major areas - research, education, advocacy, community partnerships, and health and wellness. "Too many girls lack the confidence to try a team sport or aren't encouraged to participate," says Bjornsrud. Our approach to teaching healthy lifestyles removes those obstacles by teaming girls with accomplished female athletes who've had real-world experience and success in conquering those problems."

"The collaboration between School Health Clinics and the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative is a win-win for all involved," says Sue Lapp, Executive Director for School Health Clinics. "We look forward to the success of GoGirlGo! and to its future implementation at our other clinic locations."

School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County and Kaiser Permanente are long-time partners in providing high quality medical care for children in the county. It is thanks to Kaiser's generous support and the ongoing cooperation of W.C. Overfelt High School that this program is made possible.

School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County is a not for profit agency based in San Jose that ensures thousands of young people each year receive the medical care they need to remain healthy, physically fit, and in school.