‘LET’S MOVE!’ MARKS ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY

‘LET’S MOVE!’ MARKS ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY

By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger

Photographer: George Whylie

Videographer: Maxine Nolan

While President Obama is absorbed with the sequester and the effects that it will have on our nation, First Lady Michelle Obama is embarking on her own campaign.

Michelle Obama is a huge advocate of nutritious eating and making sure that children grow up healthy and reach their full potential. This year marks the third anniversary of ‘Let’s Move!’ campaign and to celebrate the milestone, Michelle Obama visited a few cities at the end of February interacting with children and parents and teachers alike. She made a stop in Clinton, Mississippi and was joined by TV personality and child nutrition advocate, Rachael Ray. The two energetically highlighted healthy school lunches being served across the nation consisting of more fruits, vegetables and whole grains will less saturated fats and sodium.

It was then on to her hometown of Chicago, Illinois where Michelle was joined by a host of officials including Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan and an appearance by tennis champion, Serena Williams. Mrs. Obama announced that physical activity is being brought back to the schools. Rather than sitting in front of a screen for endless hours during the day, children need to stay active and exercise at best at least 60 minutes per day. Research has indicated that regular physical exercise improves test scores, classroom behavior and attendance.

From Chicago it was on to Springfield, Missouri where the First Lady visited Wal Mart to see the changes they have made to reduce sodium and added sugars from packaged food items, to make healthy food more affordable and to include a simple front-of-package seal for identifying healthier food choices. ‘Let’s Move!’ has taken shape in exciting ways.

That brought us to today, March 4, 2013. Michelle Obama continued the dialogue about healthy families online by way of her first Google + hangout. Kelly Ripa, Emmy Award-winning co-host of the daytime talk show, ‘LIVE’ with Kelly & Michael, moderated the online chat session between parents, children and Mrs. Obama all throughout the country. Streaming was live on letsmove.gov earlier today where the First Lady answered some burning questions about a healthy eating routine for our children.

Big Bird of Sesame Street fame has also teamed up with the First Lady for two public service announcements which encourage kids to eat healthy and get active. On February 26, 2013, five of America’s largest media companies, as well as Pinterest, announced a new collaboration in support of Let’s Move! to make it easier for their millions of online visitors to put nutritious meals on the table every day. Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, Meredith, Food Network and Time, Inc. in collaboration with the Partnership for a Healthier America and USDA’s MyPlate have identified thousands of nutritious recipes that meet the guidance that supports USDA’s MyPlate, and are labeling, compiling and promoting these recipes on their most popular cooking websites, which collectively garnered 150 million views in the month of January alone. More than 3,000 recipes have been identified across 18 websites, and today nearly 1,000 of these recipes have been collected on a new Pinterest page associated with the effort, providing a one-stop-shop where parents, beginner home cooks and even the most experienced chefs can find and share healthier recipes.

“As a mom, I know how challenging it can be to think of new meal ideas that your kids will like and that will be good for them,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “This partnership takes the guess work out of finding healthier recipes and gives parents the information and the tools they need to make healthy choices for their families every day.”

Here is a list of publications participating in this collaborative effort:

If you are interested in more information on this partnership, visit www.pinterest.com/MyPlateRecipes.

This year promises to be the most successful year yet as we all get involved and spread the word, eat healthy, make sure our children eat healthy and get plenty of exercise and physical activity and make family dinners the most important meal of the day.

PHOTO CREDITS: Google Images and www.letsmove.gov , Story excerpts from a White House Press Release