Not Skinny; Not Fat - Just HEALTHY

Bristol University recently looked at more than 4,000 young people and using some fancy-schmancy technology, compared things like bone density and fat. The results are not shocking: dieting girls aren't developing bone strength to full potential. Read the Press Association article.

On an incredibly regular basis the media inundates us with articles about youth health, especially the extremes of eating disorders. So today, instead of telling you there is a magic number out there or the perfect diet, we'd like to provide a couple resources that focus on helping kids end up somewhere in that happy medium that is health.

• Health and Wellness from Girl Scouts: From getting exercise to handling stress, being drug free to personal safety, these resources cover the gamut.
• Play60: Health doesn't have to just be about vegetables when you join the NFL's finest for an hour of play everyday.
• GirlsHealth.gov: Focused on teens, this is the US government's Web site for everything from healthy eating to dating relationships.
• KidsHealth.org: With three different sections, this Web site helps kids, teens and parents learn and talk about being healthy and happy.

No one of these is the cure-all for building healthy girls and boys but any one of them can offer some good insight to a healthy lifestyle.

-Cheryl Black