First Lady Michelle Obama meets with members of the board of Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization working to end childhood obesity, at the Omni Hotel in Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2011. Mrs. Obama later delivered the keynote address at the PHA’s inaugural Building a Healthier Future Summit. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with the private sector and its honorary chairwoman First Lady Michelle Obama to solve the nation’s obesity crisis, hosted its first national summit this week on November 29 and 30, 2011. Roughly 800 business leaders, community leaders, academic experts, government officials, parents and others joined together at the Omni Shoreham Hotel for the Building a Healthier Future Summit to share their experiences, form partnerships and announce substantive commitments to aid the fight against childhood obesity.  The two honorary vice chairs of PHA, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Mayor Cory Booker, laid out the challenges the nation faces as a result of the impact of childhood obesity on the economic, the health care system and our military readiness. But the conference was not about reciting the problems. It was about taking action. Senator Frist told of the enormous changes that are taking place in the market place with companies that are selling good-for-you foods showing higher profits and enhanced competitiveness, which you can read more about in a Politico piece penned by Senator Frist and Mayor Booker. Mayor Booker described how his city of Newark and Let’s Move! Cities and Towns all over the country are finding ways to encourage healthy eating and sponsor physical activity. 

Students from the Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., take to the streets pretending to use binoculars in search of their urban forest with a member of the Missoula (Montana) Chlidren's Theatre. The Missoula Children's Theatre works with the U.S. Forest Service to develop interactive, engaging performing arts school assemblies and workshops.

Pop music star Beyonce recently partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to create the Let’s Move! Flash Workout. The Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in Cherokee, N.C. has embraced the Let’s Move! concept, and launched a Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyles program. Oconaluftee has gotten behind this national movement by producing a student fitness video using the music and choreography of the Let’s Move! Flash Workout. 

In Minnesota, more and more schools are finding that salad bars are a popular way to offer kids a rainbow of healthy foods. “Kids love it. They get to choose what they want and how much. It doesn’t take much to get them onboard,” said Lisa Gemlo, Fruit and Vegetable Coordinator and Farm to School Planner for the Minnesota Department of Health. Lisa is working with the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative to help schools throughout Minnesota get salad bars and stock them with delicious produce items. From a health standpoint, this is wonderful. “We know that the majority of Minnesota school-aged children do not eat the daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables. Salad bars provide an easy and proven way to get kids to eat more of these foods. In the end, this builds healthier students who are ready to learn,” said Gemlo.

As refugee families in the United States begin to assimilate into mainstream American culture, their eating habits similarly evolve, reflecting a departure from their traditional customs. The result of this shift can be alarming, as obesity rates and other negative health outcomes soar in these particularly vulnerable communities.

Recipe courtesy of Chris Comerford and the White House Kitchen No added sugar and hearty bread in place of flaky pastry crust make this dish a welcome dessert or a sweet breakfast. The White House uses raspberries and blueberries, but you can mix and match the berries you use to your liking. Serving Size Makes 6 servings Cook Time Prep:  20 minutes Bake: 18 minutes to 20 minutes Cool: At least 30 minutes