President Barack Obama kicked off the launch by signing a Presidential Memorandum creating the first ever Task Force on Childhood Obesity which will include the DPC, Office of the First Lady, Interior, USDA, HHS, Education, NEC and other agencies. And it will take into account how life is really lived in communities across the country – encouraging, supporting and pursuing solutions that are tailored to children and families facing a wide range of challenges and life circumstances. It will foster collaboration among the leaders in government, medicine and science, business, education, athletics, community organizations and more. Let’s Move is comprehensive, collaborative, and community-oriented and will include strategies to address the various factors that lead to childhood obesity. Judith Palfrey, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power Mayor Curtatone of Somerville, Massachusetts Mayor Chip Johnson of Hernando, Mississippi and local students, including a student from DC’s Bancroft elementary school, and members of the 2009 National Championship Pee-Wee football team, the Watkins Hornets. Program participants included: Tiki Barber, NBC correspondent and former NFL football player Dr. The First Lady launched the Let’s Move campaign at the White House where she was joined by members of the President’s cabinet, including Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, HHS Secretary Sebelius, Education Secretary Duncan, HUD Secretary Donovan, Labor Secretary Solis, and Interior Secretary Salazar, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Members of Congress, mayors from across the nation and leaders from the media, medical, sports, entertainment, and business communities who impact the health of children and want to be part of the solution. “This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved. “The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake,” said Mrs. This epidemic also impacts the nation’s security, as obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year. One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. That discussion grew into the Let’s Move campaign announced today. Through the garden, she began a discussion with kids about proper nutrition and the role food plays in living a healthy life. Obama began a national conversation about the health of America’s children when she broke ground on the White House Kitchen Garden with students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, DC. To support Let’s Move and facilitate and coordinate partnerships with States, communities, and the non-profit and for-profit private sectors, the nation’s leading children’s health foundations have come together to create a new independent foundation – the Partnership for a Healthier America – which will accelerate existing efforts addressing childhood obesity and facilitate new commitments towards the national goal of solving childhood obesity within a generation.Īlmost a year ago, Mrs. Let’s Move will engage every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and will provide schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy. The Let’s Move campaign will combat the epidemic of childhood obesity through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, and mobilizes public and private sector resources. First Lady Michelle Obama today announced an ambitious national goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight and unveiled a nationwide campaign – Let’s Move – to help achieve it.
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