Girl Scouts Joins American Medical Association in Promoting Healthy Media for Youth

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Jun 22, 2011, 04:26 ET

NEW YORK, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) joined the American Medical Association (AMA) in urging advertisers to promote healthy media images. The AMA, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States, voted yesterday to adopt a new policy to "encourage advertising associations to work with public and private sector organizations concerned with child and adolescent health to develop guidelines for advertisements, especially those appearing in teen-oriented publications, that would discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image."

"Through the Girl Scouts' Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, we are working with the advertising industry and other media leaders to promote images on screen and in print that we want our girls to emulate in real life," said GSUSA Chief Executive Officer Kathy Cloninger. "We applaud the AMA for taking a strong position on this issue and join them in encouraging advertisers to use healthy, realistic images when marketing to young people."

Healthy MEdia is being launched by the Girl Scouts of the USA, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and The Creative Coalition. Commission Members include media industry leaders, subject matter experts, youth representatives and the creative community. For more information, please see www.Girlscouts.org/HealthyMedia.

About Girl Scouts of the USA (www.girlscouts.org)

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.4 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls living overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U (800-478-7248) or visit www.girlscouts.org.

SOURCE Girl Scouts of the USA