Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign Seeks To Fight Kids’ Obesity
By: Margaret Webb Pressler | The Washington Post -
Do you love burgers and fries? What about ice cream and cake? If you answered “yes,” you’re not alone. First lady Michelle Obama admits to loving those not-the-best-for-you treats, too. But the president’s wife is worried that many kids are eating too much unhealthy food and getting not enough exercise.
In fact, a lot of people are concerned that a growing number of children today are considered obese — that is, they weigh significantly more than what would be considered a healthy weight for their height.
So Obama last week launched a new campaign, called Let’s Move, that she hopes will encourage kids to get more physical activity and schools to offer more healthful foods. Television network Nickelodeon is joining the effort and plans to show commercials and other programming on its TV channels and Web sites that will help children learn more about nutrition and exercise.
More electronics, less exercise
Part of the problem is that kids are not as physically active as they used to be. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids ages 8 to 18 spend an average of 10 hours and 45 minutes using entertainment media each day, such as computers, television, video games and music players. That’s up from 7 hours and 29 minutes 10 years ago.
