Fit for girls

The UK is launching a new initiative to change the physical education approach for girls. To help pique interest, new options such as yoga and dance are going to be offered. In addition, changing facilities are going to be adjusted to better meet the girls needs (such as adding blow dryers and hair straighteners for older girls).

In the UK, only 40% of young teenage girls participate in physical activity for the recommended 60 minutes or more per day. While I hope that adding dance and blow dryers doesn't mean removing other sports (cause girls can hang with the guys just fine... thank you very much), I think anything that encourages more activity is a wonderful thing. The program has piloted in a number of schools and they're seeing positive results.

Is there a young girl in your life that could use some fitness motivation? Here are some sites for inspiration:

• iemily
• girlshealth.gov
• Kid's Health
• Kid's Health Galaxy