Michelle Obama Announces “Let’s Move!”

A few weeks ago, First Lady Michelle Obama announced an exciting new campaign she would be working on called “Let’s Move.” The main goal of Let’s Move is to help families nationwide lead healthier lives through eating better foods and getting more exercise!

Mrs. Obama’s decision to start the Let’s Move campaign was inspired by the need she saw to address the quickly-increasing rates of obesity in America. Obesity refers to a person whose weight is much more than it should be for his or her height. People who are obese are at risk for many health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, and can even face shorter life-spans. Obesity in the United States has tripled in recent years, and Mrs. Obama decided it was time to make big changes!

1. The campaign will give parents the tools and education they need to make healthy choices for their families. This will include government changes to food labels to make the nutritional aspects of foods easier to understand, new interaction between pediatricians and families, and a new Food Pyramid!

2. School lunches (and breakfasts!) will be improved to contain more healthy and nutritious choices, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. (Yum!)

3. Healthy foods will be made more affordable and more widely available. In certain parts of the country, nutritious foods are not as readily available as they should be, or if they are available they are often not affordable to the people in the area. Starting in 2011, a new program will provide funding to bring grocery stores and healthy food choices into neighborhoods that need them!

4. Last but not least, the Let’s Move campaign will encourage kids and their families to get up and MOVE! That means promoting at least one hour of physical activity per day for all kids. To jump-start this part of the initiative, lots of professional athletes have even agreed to help!

While the Let’s Move campaign is still in its early stages (more of its details and programs will become available later this spring), the First Lady has set high goals: She aims to eliminate the obesity epidemic within a generation, meaning that kids who are young now will be able to avoid having obesity problems as they grow up!