First Lady Spearheads a New Campaign to Fight Childhood Obesity and NSBA Shows Its Support
February 18, 2010 – The first lady, Michelle Obama, has launched a new campaign entitled Let’s Move! in the fight against childhood obesity. Let’s Move! aims to give parents the support they need to prevent and curb childhood obesity, provide healthier foods in schools, help kids be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of the country.
On February 9, 2010, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing a task force to address this growing health problem. Within 90 days, the task force will develop and submit to the President a comprehensive interagency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan. Members of the task force include: the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Education; Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady; Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and head(s) of other executive departments, agencies, or offices designated by the Chair.
In addition, to support the campaign and coordinate partnerships with states, communities, and the non-profit and for-profit private sectors, the nation’s leading health foundations have joined forces to create a new independent foundation – the Partnership for a Healthier America – which will accelerate existing efforts addressing childhood obesity and facilitate new commitments toward a national goal of solving childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity or excess weight is widespread and threatens the academic and life success of one-third of American children; some obesity experts have said that American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents. In addition, the nation spends approximately $150 billion every year to treat obesity-related conditions and that number is increasing. Thus, it has never been so important to tackle this issue. To accomplish the goal to solve childhood obesity within a generation, Let’s Move! aims to:
- Help parents make healthy family choices;
- Provide access to healthy, affordable food;
- Increase physical activity; and
- Serve healthier food in schools.
A significant percentage of children consume as many as half of their daily calories at school. With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, eating well at school is essential.
To address the obesity issue within schools, Let’s Move plans to: reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act; double the number of schools participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) HealthierUS School Challenge; acquire new commitments from major school food suppliers to meet nutritional standards and decrease the amount of sugar, fat and salt in school meals; partner with the School Nutrition Association to increase education and awareness of the dangers of obesity among their members and the students they serve; and work with school leadership organizations, including the National School Boards Association (NSBA).
Working with and through state school boards associations, NSBA has announced that it will help identify at least one local school board member in every state to serve as a visible champion in this campaign against childhood obesity. NSBA also will work with state associations to promote participation in the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge.
To learn more about the first lady’s initiative, click here. To access information about childhood obesity and the role schools play, visit NSBA’s Childhood Obesity & Schools webpage.
Source: Let’s Move website; “Making Moves for a Healthier Generation,” The White House Blog, Jesse Lee, February 9, 2010; “Remarks by the President at Signing of Memorandum on Childhood Obesity,” Office of the Press Secretary, the White House, February 9, 2010.