WASHINGTON, DC -- First lady Michelle Obama announced today the launch of the Let’s Move campaign aimed at combating childhood obesity.
Speaking at the White House, Obama outlined details of the campaign, which will encourage more physical activity for children as well as healthier food in schools and more visible food labeling. The Food and Drug Administration, the American Academy of Pediatrics and media companies Disney, NBC and Viacom as well as the National Football League are among the organizations joining forces on Let’s Move.
The goal of the campaign is to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.
The first lady spoke of her own family’s dealing with health issues, specifically, daughters Sasha and Malia.
“It wasn’t that long ago that I was a working mom, struggling to balance meetings and deadlines with soccer and ballet,” Obama said today. “And there were some nights when everyone was tired and hungry, and we just went to the drive-thru because it was quick and cheap, or went with one of the less healthy microwave options because it was easy. And one day, my pediatrician pulled me aside and told me, ‘You might want to think about doing things a little bit differently.’ That was a moment of truth for me. It was a wake-up call that I was the one in charge, even if it didn’t always feel that way.”
Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama signed an executive order setting up a task force that included federal agencies and the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Labor and Health and Human Services to tackle the obesity problem.
“We think that this has enormous promise in improving the health of our children, in giving support to parents to make the kinds of healthy choices that oftentimes are very difficult in this kind of environment,’’ President Obama said.