![]() Obama planted a garden, waged snappy social media campaigns, and worked behind the scenes with researchers, lawmakers, heads of government departments, schools, and food giants to quietly change what Americans eat.Įven observers who previously worried about Obama’s food industry partnerships now called her advocacy "brilliant," "unprecedented," and a "godsend." Through her leadership, the Obama administration seized on a moment when America started paying attention to food, and made fighting obesity a top priority - both symbolically and legislatively. I learned that some of the very things that made Michelle Obama sometimes appear soft - the industry collaborations, the emphasis on exercise - were part of the shrewd strategy that made her effective. (Despite repeated requests, Obama’s office did not grant an interview with the First Lady on childhood obesity - and she has demurred from discussing the details of this work with other members of the press as well.) Then I spoke with a dozen people who worked closely on her campaign, as well as the health and food policy researchers who studied it. I wasn’t confident that FLOTUS, with no legislative power, could make a dent. The government has also often exacerbated the problem over the years, in the form of subsidies for pizza- and french fry–filled school lunches, and generally allowing the industry, and not the best available science, to guide nutrition policy. Isn’t that like teaming up with cigarette companies to get kids to stop smoking? She’s also partnered with the very food giants that are synonymous with the problem, such as soda makers. And the first lady’s initial championing of physical activity - her pushup competitions with Ellen DeGeneres, the dance-offs with Big Bird - seemed like a charming cop-out. ![]() We know obesity is disproportionately caused by overeating rather than a lack of exercise. Today, her Let’s Move campaign is her highest-profile endeavor, far better known than her Joining Forces campaign to support service members and their families, or Let Girls Learn to advocate for girls’ education around the world.īut I have to admit something: I was skeptical of the influence Obama could have on the nation’s health. Obama has spent the bulk of her time in the White House doing something unprecedented for a "mom-in-chief": pushing hard against childhood obesity. I had to lead our family to a different way." "Even though I wasn't exactly sure at that time what I was supposed to do with this information about my children's BMI," the first lady said in 2010, "I knew that I had to do something. In interviews and speeches, she described her worry about her family’s health and a pediatrician’s warning that her daughters’ body mass index (BMI) was creeping up. Shortly after President Obama was elected to the White House in 2008, first lady Michelle Obama divulged some sensitive, personal details: The Obama children, Malia and Sasha, were gaining weight.
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