Let's Move

Join America’s move to raise a healthier generation of kids. Learn the facts about raising healthier kids through physical activity and nutrition.

The LET’S MOVE Initiative

is Promoting Steps

to Take to Lead Longer,

Healthier and Happier Lives

Over the last four decades, First Ladies of the United States began to realize that their position was giving an opportunity to do something to help Americans lead better lives. Nancy Reagan instructed children to “Say no to drugs.” Laura Bush supported education and early literacy. Hillary Clinton promoted a national health care reform. She along with Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, was behind the passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents could not provide them with health coverage. In 1997, Mrs. Clinton initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.

On 2010, President Barack Obama established the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to develop and implement an interagency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan to end the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Current First Lady, Michelle Obama, is on the front line of the Task Force against Childhood Obesity.

Obesity has become an issue all across the children in America. Being overweight can limit a child’s physical activities and contribute to low self-esteem, but what’s even more disturbing are the serious medical conditions and diseases that can develop as a result of being too heavy—like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in the United States, affecting more than 9 million children and teens. In the past 30 years, the rate of obese children has more than tripled. 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls are considered extremely obese. The alarming numbers are sparking parents, doctors and the government to step-up and do something about this rapidly increasing rate of overweight children.

On January the First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin get together to announced their plans to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and by encouraging communities to support healthy choices.

The prosperous garden on the White House lawn was the Mrs. Obama platform to speak out about the country's childhood obesity problem, extol the benefits of eating fresh food, and teach children early to appreciate vegetables. Through the garden, she began a discussion with kids about proper nutrition and the role food plays in living a healthy life. Here the First lady Mrs. Michelle Obama began a national conversation about the health of America’s children and the seeds for the Let’s Move campaign began to germinate.

“The surge in obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis that is threatening our children, our families, and our future,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “In fact, the health consequences are so severe that medical experts have warned that our children could be on track to live shorter lives than their parents. The message released today is an incredibly important step in directing the Nation’s attention to solving the obesity epidemic and we do not have a moment to waste.” “Let’s Move!”

The national campaign against childhood obesity, called “LET’S MOVE,” is a comprehensive and coordinated initiative to prevent childhood obesity.

The campaign have four pillars: healthy schools, access to affordable and healthy food, raising children’s physical activity levels, and empowering families to make healthy choices.

On February, the Obama Administration released details of an over $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative. These federal funds will support projects ranging from the construction or expansion of a grocery stores stocked with fresh produce in convenience stores in underserved urban and rural communities at nutritional risk across America. Residents of these communities, which are sometimes called “food deserts” and are often found in economically distressed areas, some with small stores that offer little or no fresh produce. Lack of healthy, affordable food options can lead to higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

“Encouraging people to choose fresh, nutritious food is important,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “But to achieve that goal that kind of food must be available, and in far too many parts of our country -- both urban and rural communities -- that's not the case. This collaborative initiative is a creative way to help solve that problem, while at the same time working to strengthen the economy of low-income communities through business development and job creation.”

By mid-February the First Lady Michelle Obama announced her ambitious national goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity and unveiled a nationwide campaign – Let’s Move – to help achieve it. Let’s Move will engage every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and will provide schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy.

By April 15, 2010...Continued

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