There’s nothing like some sound advice on how to stem the child obesity epidemic.
Even better when that advice comes from none other than the First Lady, as it did recently during a live video chat on the government web site for Let’s Move!—the new site devoted to Michelle Obama’s signature cause of helping kids eat healthier and keep fit.
Answering questions from people who’d e-mailed her, Mrs. Obama talked frankly and practically about how to get kids to eat sensibly and exercise when the world around them is filled with fast food, computer games, and the like.
What was so refreshing about Mrs. Obama’s chat was how down-to-earth it was. She told how, after her daughters’ pediatrician cautioned her to keep an eye on their weight, she figured it was time to make some changes. She’d been relying on foods like take-out pizza to get through busy weeknights, but she started to cut back. She tried to have more family dinners around the table. She served more water and less sugar-sweetened drinks. She and her husband also went through their cabinets to get rid of processed foods and sweets. Then, she said, “I tried to cook one good meal a week. Not every day, because it’s not realistic. I started there and built up.”
Small steps like these are key, said Mrs. Obama. Same with physical activity. The Obamas started to say “no” to TV during weeknights. “We did things like go outside, throw a ball, turn on the radio and do a little dancing,” she said, adding that it’s not necessary to join a gym or sign up for an expensive extracurricular activity to get your kids’ blood pumping. “Our kids can get the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day by running outside playing tag, by riding a bike, or by jumping rope. It could be a game of ‘Duck Duck Goose.’ It could be freeze tag.
“You can really make significant improvements with small changes,” she said. “I want people to think in those terms. Not wholesale changes that are going to turn people’s lives upside down, because then you can’t sustain it.”
The Obamas also try to model a healthy lifestyle for their kids. “They see us working out on a regular basis, they know that exercise is important, they know that my husband and I both have a sport that we love,” said Mrs. Obama. “We encourage our children to pick a sport and invest in it and learn how to work at something they’re not good at. So it’s all about achievement and accomplishment.
“Our kids watch everything we do,” she says. “How we move, how we talk, what we eat on our plates. If I’m telling my girls to finish their vegetables, you can guarantee that they’re looking over at my plate to see that I finished mine.”
She adds, “We try to talk little—or not at all—about actual weight.”
Mrs. Obama also highlighted some of the goals of the Let’s Move! campaign:
• Make food package nutrition information clearer and more prominent
• Get rid of “food deserts”—places where it’s tough to find fresh fruits and veggies—within seven years
• Improve school lunches within five years
• Get 50 percent of kids either to walk or bike to school
There’s a lot more. The Let’s Move! web site is full of helpful tips aimed at moving families, schools, and communities toward a healthier lifestyle. In fact, Let’s Move! has much in common with BodiMojo. We want the same thing, after all—happier, healthier kids.






