Lets Move! Campaign Tackles Kid Obesity

WASHINGTONFirst Lady Michelle Obama today launched the Lets Move! program to combat childhood obesity. The program is part of Obamas initiative to reduce childhood obesity and improve the health and well-being of American children.

The program calls for initiatives to help parents more informed about nutrition and exercise, improve the quality of food in schools, make healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and increase focus on physical education.

Childhood obesity or excess weight threatens the healthy future of one-third of American children. Americans spend $150 billion every year to treat obesity-related conditions, and that number is growing. Obesity rates tripled in the past 30 years, a trend that means, for the first time in our history, American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents.

President Obama also signed a presidential memorandum to create the Task Force on Childhood Obesity (Task Force) to develop an interagency action plan to solve the problem of obesity among our nation's children within a generation. Michelle Obama will lead a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity. She will encourage involvement by public, nonprofit and private sectors, as well as parents and youth, to help support and amplify the work of the federal government in improving the health of children.