Michelle Obama Works to End Childhood Obesity: How You Can Help Now

Wednesday, 2/10/2010

Michelle Obama announced this week a new Federal Task Force to investigate and outline a strategy to end childhood obesity. While the government will be working for the next several months to create a plan to improve the health of our nation’s children, there are several ways you can help now to begin the change.

Watch Michelle Obama discuss the program, and the changes she’s made in her own family’s life to improve health and nutrition on Good Morning America.

The Goal:

Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign offers four key areas to improve health and eliminate childhood obesity:

1. Healthy Choices: The first decisions about a child’s diet and physical activity happen at home. Let’s Move plans to empower parents to make wise decisions about their family’s diet and exercise through new resources like a new food-labeling system and a new food pyramid.
2. Healthier Schools: Students consume up to half of their daily calories at school. The program strives to improve school lunches across the country.
3. Physical Activity: Children need sixty minutes of vigorous physical activity each day. Programs like the President’s Active Lifestyle Challenge will help make physical activity a more integral part to a child’s day.
4. Accessible & Affordable Healthy Food: The campaign hopes to bring change to “food deserts,” communities where access to supermarkets is limited, to provide better options to these neighborhoods.

What You Can Do Now:

While the Let’s Move Campaign and Federal Task Force are ramping up, there are several steps you can take now to make a difference.

1. Action for Healthy Kids: The nation’s leading nonprofit and largest volunteer network fighting childhood obesity and undernourishment works with schools to improve nutrition and physical activity. Join one of AFHK’s many programs, explore their resources, or take our own Tooth Fairy Game On! Ultimate Wellness Challenge, and enter to win a Wii Fit System.
2. Improve School Lunches: Improving school lunches doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Edutopia outlined several simple steps to improve the quality of school lunches. Also consider joining the lunch revolution with Revolution Foods. Revolution Foods is a nationwide school lunch service that offers tasty, affordable, hormone and chemical free meals directly to schools.
3. Encourage Positive Role Models: Positive health and fitness role models make a substantial difference in a child’s health outlook. The trainers of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper, both spoke recently with Walden.com about health and fitness tips for the whole family. Use their stories, advice and the TV show to help inspire your family to be healthy.

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