We’ve all heard the scary stats about our country’s obesity rates. More than 64 percent of the adult population is considered overweight, childhood obesity is threatening one third of American children, $150 billion is spent annually on treating obesity-related conditions, and obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 yrs. Okay, so what are we going to do about it? Michelle Obama has a solution.
The First Lady, devoted mother, and fashion icon is championing the “Lets Move” campaign, which is aimed at stopping the growing obesity epidemic at its roots by giving kids better access to healthier food and encouraging more exercise. The goal is simple: To stop the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. Ambitious, yes, but not impossible. Along with the First Lady’s powerful leadership, the project is backed by some serious resources. Members from the departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Education as well as $1 billion a year in federal funds promised for 10 years show how seriously this cause is being taken.
Michelle Obama also has a public advocate in former US President Bill Clinton, who spoke Wednesday on his own anti-obesity initiative, “Alliance for a Healthier Generation,” saying he’ll take his cues from the knowledgeable First Lady. Clinton, whose foundation teamed up with the American Heart Association to create the Alliance, said Obama has a “very sound program for what she can do as First Lady to bring attention to obesity and help change the options that young people have and the future that they will enjoy.”
Michelle Obama has emerged as more than just the wife of the most powerful man alive, and her spearheading of such a relevant, urgent and compassionate cause is typical of the woman who has come to be known as “Mighty Michelle.”
