Posted by Debra Eschmeyer, Executive Director of Let’s Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition on January 4, 2017
At the launch of Let’s Move! in 2010, President Obama established a Task Force on Childhood Obesity clearly stating his goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation and announcing the First Lady’s role in leading a national public awareness effort to improve the health of our children.
He stated: "To meet our goal, we must accelerate implementation of successful strategies that will prevent and combat obesity. Such strategies include updating child nutrition policies in a way that addresses the best available scientific information, ensuring access to healthy, affordable food in schools and communities, as well as increasing physical activity and empowering parents and caregivers with the information and tools they need to make good choices for themselves and their families. They will help our children develop lifelong healthy habits, ensuring they reach their greatest potential toward building a healthier and more prosperous America."
Posted by Debra Eschmeyer, Executive Director of Let’s Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition on January 2, 2017
Before First Lady Michelle Obama came to the White House, she was a busy mom juggling work and family. After an eye-opening conversation with her pediatrician, Mrs. Obama realized she needed to make some adjustments to her family’s eating routine. With small changes, like cooking more meals at home and drinking water, she started to see the positive impact on her family’s health.
Then, when Mrs. Obama arrived at the White House, she decided she wanted to use her platform to share the lessons she learned and help other busy parents in order to raise a healthier generation of kids and families. One of the first actions the First Lady made back in 2009 was to plant the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn. The garden helped spark a national conversation around the health and wellbeing of our country that led to the launch of Let's Move! in 2010.
Posted by Catherine Oakar, MPH, Associate Director, Let’s Move!, on January 1, 2017
Making the healthy choice the easy choice—seemingly simple words but ones that can have such tremendous impact. They are not only a cornerstone of the Obama Administration’s work on public health and health care, but for millions of Americans, they’re now a reality.
Posted by Sasha Bard Chamberlain, MS, RD, Associate Director of Let’s Move! on December 29, 2016
From the very beginning, one of the primary tenants of the Let’s Move! initiative was that everyone has a role to play. For nearly seven years we have worked hard to set the stage for a healthier next generation of kids by engaging stakeholders on all levels - parents, child care providers, schools, chefs, local elected officials, faith-based leaders, museums, and more.
Posted by Sasha Bard Chamberlain, MS, RD, Associate Director of Let’s Move! on December 27, 2016
In a world of text messages and emojis, it may seem hard to believe that people still put pen to paper, write letters, address envelopes, and lick stamps the “old fashioned way.” Here at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, mail still pours in from all across the country. Many of the letters for First Lady Michelle Obama talk about the Let’s Move! initiative and how Americans of all ages have been inspired or impacted by this work.
Posted by Kelly Miterko, Deputy Director, Let's Move! on December 21, 2016
Through Let’s Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama has helped kids and families lead healthier lives by raising public awareness, supporting policy, and creating programs and partnerships to create a culture shift toward health. The First Lady embraced pop culture, engaged celebrities and athletes, and got involved on social media in her fun, authentic, and inspiring way in order to reach people where they are. As a result, several viral videos came to life.
Posted by Kelly Miterko, Deputy Director, Let's Move! on December 19, 2016
As we near the end of 2016, we are reflecting back on all of the amazing Let’s Move! moments throughout the year. From the First Lady’s surprise garden visits and dedication of the White House Kitchen Garden to announcing the modernized Nutrition Facts label and hosting the first-ever fun run, we continued to make impactful progress, while also having some fun, in this final year of the Obama Administration.
Posted by Sasha Bard Chamberlain, MS, RD, Associate Director, Let’s Move! on December 15, 2016
President Obama launched Every Kid in a Park in 2015 to protect our outdoor spaces and get young people outside. Through this program, every fourth grade student has the opportunity to receive a pass for them and their families to visit more than 2,000 public lands and waters for free for a full year.
Posted by Jedd Flowers, Director of Communications, and Rhonda McCoy, Director of Food Services, Cabell County Schools on December 14, 2016
The transformation of Cabell County Schools’ Food Service Program hasn’t always been easy, but today, students are benefitting from healthy, well-balanced meals mostly made from scratch.
Posted by Liping Pan, MD MPH, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, CDC on December 7, 2016
A new study shows that 34 states and territories reported modest decreases in obesity among young children from 2010-2014. Obesity among low-income children (aged 2-4 years old) enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) decreased from 15.9% in 2010 to 14.5% in 2014.
Posted by Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General on November 1, 2016
When I accepted Fitbit’s two-week Step It Up! Challenge, my hope was that we would tap into America’s competitive spirit and get everyone to walk more. The challenge was designed so that folks could team up and invite others to step it up, too. While some participants seemed to really enjoy competing and comparing their step count with mine, the real goal wasn’t about who walks more or less. It was about establishing a habit that would set us on a path to a stronger, healthier nation.
Posted by Emily Gallivan, Administrative & Programs Associate, Chef Ann Foundation on October 31, 2016
Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools celebrated National Farm to School Month the entire month of October, paying homage to the hard work and dedication of food service professionals, farmers and educators across the country who connect their communities with fresh, healthy and local food. And what better way to finish out the month than to highlight one of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools grantees who is using school salad bars as a vehicle to drive farm to school forward: Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) in Madison, WI which serves 27,000 students across 50 schools. We sat down with Food & Nutrition Director Steve Youngbauer and Food Service Coordinator Dustin Lundt to find out more.
Posted by Cathy Burns, President, Produce Marketing Association on October 27, 2016
As a mom with a teen and a tween at home, it’s my job to be sure they grow up healthy, smart, and strong. I’m alert to what they see and I watch what they watch. And let me tell you, when it comes to food marketing, they’re not seeing a lot about fresh fruits and vegetables.
We know marketing works – we can see it in efforts to sell everything from cars and phones to all sorts of foods. It works to drive awareness of products and deliver persuasive, compelling, and often behavior-changing routines on consumers, including our children.
Posted by Nick Wallace, Associate, Health and Wellness, Institute for Youth, Education and Families, National League of Cities on October 24, 2016
The City of McAllen, Texas, home to 136,639 residents living along the U.S‐Mexico border, has been named the first-ever Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC) All-Star, the highest achievement for participants of LMCTC. McAllen, in partnership with residents, governmental organizations, non-profits, and small businesses, has made physical activity and healthy eating an integral part of the city’s fabric through the creation of a bike-share program, the adoption of city design guidelines that encourage walking and other forms of physical activity, the expansion of farmers markets, and the launch of a Kids Marathon.
Posted by Dr. Katie Wilson, Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, USDA on October 11, 2016
Ed. Note: This is a cross post from the USDA Blog. You can find the original post here.
Last week, children from more than a dozen schools and child care centers across the nation joined First Lady Michelle Obama for her final harvest of the White House garden. This event was more than just photo ops and shaking hands; kids got their hands dirty, harvesting the produce they later used to prepare a healthy meal. This was a neat experience for the students who participated, but it was also representative of the types of activities students are participating in all around the country. School gardens, nutritious snacks, farm to lunch tray meals, and nutrition education are all part of the healthier school environments students are experiencing each and every day.
