It S Hip to Be Healthy!

It S Hip to Be Healthy!

IT’S HIP TO BE HEALTHY!

The HIP–Health in Perspective Program is a

fun, activity-filled smoking prevention and

cessation program which helps young

females aged between 10 and 15 make their

own lifestyle choices while participating in

peer-lead sessions. The HIP Program adopts a

comprehensive approach that does not

strictly address the harmful effects of

tobacco, but rather tackles some of the

underlying reasons why young females begin

and continue to smoke.

The main concern that lead to the development

of this resource kit was that young

females at pre-adolescence do not generally

express great self-esteem and satisfaction

with their bodies. An active lifestyle can

potentially bring solutions to both of these

issues, allowing young women to be fit and

healthy, take on challenging activities, form

new friendships and have fun!

Just as the title of the program suggests, we

are putting health in perspective, looking at

different aspects that have an impact on the

well being of young females. Through

information, games and activities, the HIP

Program addresses the following topics:

communication, body image and self esteem,

physical activity and active living, stress

management techniques, health and

environmental issues, media's influence on

smoking and smoking cessation. HIP keeps

participants active and uses very little of

what could be called "pen and paper

activities", but rather tries to maximize every

possible opportunity to initiate group

discussions.

The "for youth by youth" delivery method of

the HIP Program creates opportunities for

participants and peer leaders to discuss

shared concerns in an understanding

atmosphere. This is done through the

involvement of an adult facilitator who

introduces the program to the youth and

provides ongoing support to the peer leaders

and the participants, and the key

participation of young women who take on

the implementation of the program. Also, we

believe that by encouraging youth leadership

on the topic of smoking prevention and

cessation among young females, the message

will have a more powerful impact and

possibly better results.

The program is intended to be implemented

in settings such as recreation, intramural or

after school programs or within existing

community programming for young females

aged between 10 and 15. The flexibility of

the HIP Program allows us to reach as many

participants as possible in a variety of

settings for such and approach since they

offer great opportunities for youth

involvement and leadership, positive role

models and represent natural mediums to

encourage healthy and active lifestyles as a

short and long term alternative to tobacco

use.

To help raise the profile of this initiative

among young females, we have enlisted the

assistance of two young women who have

recently been recognized for their athletic

achievements. Marianne Limpert, member of

the Canadian Olympic Swimming Team and

a Silver Medalist at the '96 Olympics in

Atlanta and Cassie Campbell, member of the

Canada's National Women's Hockey Team

have endorsed the HIP program and are

prepared to act as spokespersons for this

initiative.

The HIP–Health in Perspective Program is a

joint project which hasbeen developed by

the Canadian Intramural Recreation

Association with funding assistance from

Health Canada's Tobacco Demand Reduction

Strategy. For further information please

contact the Canadian Intramural Recreation

Association at (613) 748-5639.