On February 9th, 2010,
Michelle Obama announced a very important program called "Let's
Move." This program was established by the first lady after
realizing that the obesity rate in children was increasing in the United
States. Michelle Obama’s idea behind
this campaign was so that the general public would be encouraged to be involved
in improving the health of the younger generation of the United States. By
creating this program/campaign, Michelle Obama had targets towards"getting parents more informed about nutrition and exercise, improving the quality of food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and focusing more on physical education." For all this to happen, many people play a significant role to be successful with this goal. This includes people that are part of the government, schools, health care professionals, and even community based organizations. In regard to the federal government playing a role in decreasing childhood obesity, Michelle Obama also mentioned that President Obama plans to "reauthorize the Children Nutrition Act." This act is basically offering about a $10 billion budget increase over a 10 year period so that schools can provide children with healthier school lunches.
The first lady also mentions that
majority of the children’s calories do come from school and therefore along
with schools providing healthier lunches, schools should also focus of physical
activity. There are many schools in the
United States that do not have Physical Education mandatory for their
kids. This is very unhealthy because the
kids are not able to burn off their calories.
Many of the reasons why Physical Education and recesses are being cut is
because of budget cuts and therefore this also plays a role in childhood
obesity.
Along
with working with the federal government and school officials, the first lady
also is trying to work with families to help them come up with a strategy that
will help them. As being a famous
political leader, do you believe Michelle Obama’s campaign will make a
difference to those families who have children suffering obesity? Many families are not as educated about
childhood obesity as they should be, so therefore seeing someone famous
concerned about it can influence their thinking. There is also a website for the “Let’s Move”
campaign that needs to be advertised more so that the general public can get a
better understanding.
Childhood obesity is a major problem in the United States, and when well known political figures like Michelle Obama are trying to get the correct message out there, I think more people will listen to her. When a celebrity or a well known person talks about an issue the general population seems to pay more information. There are many celebrities that spread the wrong information about health, for instance vaccines and their correlation to autism, which is incorrect. However, what Michelle Obama is doing is a great concept. Spreading awareness about child obesity is really important. This way many parents will realize their child is having problem, and they can act upon it. Michelle Obama is helping these parents realize childhood obesity as a problem, and she is giving these parents options to help their children.
ReplyDeleteFor some people, there is a need for a role model or celebrity to bring forth problems that they didn't see before or did not think was an issue before. Michelle Obama taking on this "Let's Move" campaign is a great way to inform parents all over the world of a serious problem like childhood obesity. If this is what will grab the attention of parents, then yes, this is the best thing Michelle Obama can do. I believe that this information coming from the president's wife is a great way to educate and inform families out there of serious problems like childhood obesity.
ReplyDeleteI believe Michelle Obama's campaign will make a difference to those families suffering obesity because may families view her as a "paternal (or in this case maternal) figure". For those who approve of Michelle Obama and President Obama, the message will be taken to heart and for many will be an eye opener, however if there is no connect with the Obama's then it is up to each family to have a strong reason of their own to improve their health and weight. I do find it interesting that many public schools do not have a mandatory PE class.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great use of the federal government's time and money. With such a high prevalence of childhood obesity in the USA, it is important to recognize that a good way to promote better healthcare in the future is to start from the bottom up and invest in healthier food choices and more active lifestyles.
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