The Need
The health crisis is real.
Race and gender matter. While the health and obesity epidemics affect Americans across the board, Black women have the highest risk of becoming overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Recent data show large disparities in obesity prevalence by race-ethnic group among women. Race-ethnic disparities in obesity were not observed in men.
When compared to the general population, African-American children are disproportionately affected by obesity. Among girls the highest prevalence of obesity is found among African-American and Hispanic girls (1). As such GirlTrek invites Latina girls, who often share communities with Black girls to join trek teams.
80% of Black women are overweight or obese. And scientest predict that 100% of African maerican women will be overweight by the year 2034 It's time to change our culture and habits.
Today's youth are believed to be the most physically inactive generation in United States history. The number of overweight children in our country has doubled in the past two decades.(1) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that one in three children born in 2000 in the United States will likely develop Type 2 Diabetes unless they get more exercise and improve their diets. Due to soaring obesity, many girls begin puberty ahead of schedule and 80% of obese girls develop breasts by age 9.(2) Early development triggers early menstruating and is a risk factor for breast cancer. Obese girls have significantly lower self-esteem than their non-obese peers at age 14.(3) Adolescents with lower esteem are more likely to engage in such risky behaviors as smoking, drinking alcohol and unsafe sex.(3) For these reasons, GirlTrek needs your support.
In addition to addressing the health crisis plaguing girls of color, GirlTrek is an answer to the lack of positive and diverse female role models, the need for leadership opportunities for girls and the call to create a more diverse cadre of environmentalists.
How did GirlTrek Start?
It started in 2007 with a routine telephone call. Tanya Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison discussed the challenges facing their families and communities. The conversation ranged from the lack of healthy food options in poor neighborhoods to the influence of commercial hip hop on teenage girls. The conversation took an unusual turn. “What would Harriet do?”
What would Harriet Tubman do about the catastrophic state of public health, public schools and the environment? After a long and colorful conversation, they agreed that she would stand up for change!
Morgan and Vanessa were tired of complaining! They wanted to make a difference! They decided to create GirlTrek, a public health organization that relies on the optimism and leadership of young people! But how would they generate the funds and buzz needed to jumpstart such a large-scale initiative? They decided to leverage hope and optimism, and to rely on people power and grassroots organizing.
What is the GirlTrek Symbol?
The Bese Saka symbol in the logo above is from West Africa. In interviews, Harriet Tubman bragged that her grandmother was pure Asante - from the Akan State. It is widely believed that her grandmother was sold to a Maryland plantation directly from Africa. GirlTrek honors Mrs. Tubman's ancestry and heritage by adopting a beautiful Adinkra symbol. Bese Saka represents a bushel of kola nuts an important food crop in Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. It represents power, abundance and unity. Incidentally, kola nuts were used to flavor the original cola drinks. GirlTrek uses this dichotomous symbol to acknowledge the bifurcated world that we all face - health education in the context of alluring and addictive food and beverages.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999–2002. October 2004. Ogden C. et al. “Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among US Children and Adolescents, 1999–2000.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(14). October 9, 2002.
2. U.S. News and World Report, March 19, 2007
3. http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/type2kids, March 26, 2007
4. http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/type2kids, March 26, 2007
5. http://www.webmd.com/news/20000114/obesity-plus-low-self-esteem-may-lead-risky-behavior-teens
6. Birmaher, B., Ryan, N.D., Williamson, D.E., et al. (1996). Childhood and adolescent depression: a review of the past 10 years. Part 1. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(11), 1427-39.
7. http://www.elpnet.org/diversity.php, March 2007
8. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db01.pdf
What's in a Name?
The word trek means a long, arduous journey, and is derived from the Dutch word trecken, meaning “to haul”. The Great Trek was the Dutch migration into South Africa that significantly exposed all of Africa to colonization.
Why use a word connected to the colonial history in Africa? Why use a language that pronounced a policy of racial segregation called Apartheid? The GirlTrek name is a tribute to the power and persistence of young people and to the Adrinkra philosophy of Sankofa that implores us to never forget the past as we prepare for the long arduous journey ahead.
We honor the 10,000 students whose voices reverberated through the streets of Soweto, South Africa on June 16, 1976 to rally against a policy that outlawed their native Bantu language in schools. Over the next 13 years, inspired by the non-violent movement of Mahatma Gandhi, their voices rose in an ever-stronger and ever-louder chorus that finally motivated the world to take action. In 1989, the walls of Apartheid came tumbling down.
CONTACT US!
GirlTrek Inc. Headquarters
3933 Park Avenue
Fairfield, CT 06825
Phone: (203) 940-3659
Fax: (866) 702-8187
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping), osteoarthritis, and some cancers. Obesity is measured with a body mass index (BMI). BMI shows the relationship of weight to height. Women with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, while women with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. All adults (aged 18 years or older) who have a BMI of 25 or more are considered at risk for early death and disability from being overweight or obese. These health risks increase as the BMI rises. (source)
