[JRC 학생기자] Michelle Obama’s No-More-Obesity Campaign

On February 27, 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama visited Mississippi in order to celebrate the significant drop in the child obesity rate, on her promotion tour of the “Let’s Move” campaign. She said that Mississippi State’s success against child obesity will be an inspiring example for other states.

The First Lady’s tour celebrates the fourth anniversary of her “Let’s Move” campaign, which was first launched in February of 2010. The ultimate goal of the campaign, as Mrs. Obama noted on the “Let’s Move” website, is “solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.” The “Let’s Move” website also provides five projects to achieve reduction in childhood obesity rate, including creating a healthy start for children, empowering parents and caregivers, providing healthy food in schools, improving access to healthy, affordable foods, and increasing physical activity.
According to United States Food and Drug Administration, about one-third of children in United States are overweight or obese. Obesity highly increases the risk of geriatric diseases, which can be lethal, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiac arrest.

In response to her anti-obesity movement, many food companies, restaurants, and food stores have joined the “Let’s Move” campaign in many ways. For example, gourmet stores donated healthy vegetables to schools, helping children to eat more nutritious, vitamin-packed meals; professional chefs volunteer to visit public schools and make healthy lunch for students; Wal-Mart put labels on organic products, providing customers easier, better-informed access to healthy food; kids’ meals in restaurants such as Olive Garden and Red Lobster now automatically comes with fruits and vegetable sides, and a cup of low-fat milk as the drink. Helped by public participation and cooperation with state lawmakers and Boards of Education, “Let’s Move” contributed to a decrease of child obesity rates in several states, including Mississippi where it dropped by 13.3 percent.

Larry Soler, president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said that Michelle Obama is a good leader dealing with problem of child obesity, and also urged for people’s participation. “Everyone has a role to play in overcoming the problem,” said Soler.

“What's happening here in Mississippi is really what `Let's Move' is all about,” Michelle Obama said to audiences at the celebration in Mississippi, “It's the story of what you all have achieved here that we want to tell. It's the story we want to be telling in every state all across this country.”