Let's Move! was a public health campaign in the United States led by First Lady Michelle Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children. The Let's Move! initiative had an initially stated goal of "solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight". Let's Move! sought to decrease childhood obesity to 5% by 2030. Despite its goal, the Let's Move! initiative did not cause a decline in obesity rates. In 2008, 68% of Americans were either overweight or obese. By 2016, that number jumped to 71.2%. In 2018, more than 73.1% of Americans were either overweight or obese.
History The campaign was announced on February 9, 2010, by Michelle Obama. One major component of the campaign, the Hunger-Free Kids Act, was funded with money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). Obama indicated the campaign would encourage healthier food in schools, better food labeling and more physical activity for children. On the same date, Obama signed a presidential memorandum creating the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to review current programs and develop a national action plan. The Task Force reviews policy and programs related to child nutrition and physical activity. It hopes to create change through a national action plan with five goals:
Creating a healthy start for children Empowering parents and caregivers Providing healthy food in schools Improving access to healthy, affordable foods Increasing physical activity The White House Task Force hoped to bring the childhood obesity rate down to five percent by 2030. In 2011, a song, "Move Your Body", was released to promote the campaign called "Let's Move! Flash Workout". The song was by Beyoncé featuring Swizz Beatz, and the video was filmed in a school cafeteria where Beyoncé was dancing with children. The initiative was led for several years by Sam Kass, the personal chef to the Obamas who became the first-ever White House Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition. He was succeeded in 2015 as both executive director of Let's Move! and Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition by Debra Eschmeyer, a cofounder of FoodCorps. Since the Let's Move! initiative was a collaboration of many government agencies and private entities, it lacked full-time employees. Department heads, business executives, volunteers, teachers, legislators, and others carry out the mission and goals of Let's Move! in conjunction with their primary work obligations. Michelle Obama is the chief spokeswoman and promoter, but she does not have staff solely dedicated to carrying out the Let's Move! initiative. The campaign ended in January 2017 following the end of the Obama administration.
Childhood obesity
Body mass index (BMI) is a measurement of weight in relation to height that can help to determine weight status. In children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines that a child is overweight if they are above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile and obese if at or above the 95th percentile. The CDC indicates that there are several factors that can contribute to childhood obesity: genetic factors; behavioral factors including energy intake, physical activity and sedentary behavior; and environmental factors. Overweight and obesity pose many potential risks and consequences: psychological; cardiovascular disease; among additional risks including asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes. Today nearly one in five children in the U.S. between ages 6–19 are obese, and one in three are overweight. The childhood obesity rate tripled from 1980 to 1999 creating an epidemic and a generation where children may have shorter life spans than their parents. The Let's Move! initiative focuses on the reform of behavioral factors and environmental factors by focusing on active lifestyles and healthy eating through community involvement, including but not limited to schools, parents, work places, and healthcare providers.
Nutrition To promote healthy eating, the Let's Move! initiative emphasizes nutrition information, a next generation food "icon", food nutrition labeling and having pediatricians as partners. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) presents its Let's Move food choice guidelines on the webpage called MyPlate, located at ChooseMyPlate.gov. Guidelines take the form of "half all grains eaten should be whole grains" and 37 nutrition tips. Let's Move! also provides consumers with nutrition information through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (or FDA)'s "New Front-of-Package Labeling Initiative" and "New Menu and Vending Machines Labeling Requirements".
Let's Move! advocates healthy eating habits to be promoted by families, schools, and communities. Let's Move! urges mothers to eat more healthily when pregnant and offers links to a special "MyPyramid Plan for Moms" so they can create a personalized and healthy diet. The initiative also provides guidelines for parents to set up and promote healthy eating habits for their entire family and children. In order for healthier eating to be promoted at schools, Let's Move! promotes the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge.
The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is a voluntary initiative established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. In February 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama introduced Let's Move!, incorporating the HealthierUS School Challenge into her campaign to raise a healthier generation of kids. At the time, monetary incentive awards became available for each HUSSC award level: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold Award of Distinction. Random House publishers has said Michelle Obama will be writing a book on her White House garden, and her family's favorite healthy cooking ideas.
Community involvement For Let's Move to work effectively, communities would need to be involved, schools would need to implement health programs, and parents would need to teach their children healthy habits. The following sections describe how organizations and businesses had gotten involved in this nationwide movement.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
