Showing posts with label First Lady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label First Lady. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wednesday's Woman: Fighting Childhood Obesity


Anna Mahler is a passionate blogger, wife and mother who generously contributes to Wednesday’s Woman on a monthly basis.  She considers herself a student of life and inspiringly shares what she learns at The Mommy Padawan.  She was recently featured at DoYouYoga.com in an insightful piece Three Reasons Why Bad Moods are Wonderful.   

Eat, Move, Live  - Healthy!

There have been many reports in recent news about the how heavily processed and fast food along with a sedentary lifestyle is actually causing an epidemic of obesity in America, but adults are not the only ones being effected.

Today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. In fact, it's predicted that this could be the first generation of children with a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

As serious and sobering as this news is, it is also our most preventable disease. 

It's common for mothers to to be concerned with what are children are eating and trying to make sure they are getting everything they need. Encouraging and even sneaking in fruits and vegetables to daily meals is an every day struggle for most but one mom has taken this concern to new levels.

Today's Wednesday's Woman is walking the walk in her own life, for her family and creating programs and initiatives to educate, inspire and empower families to create fuller, healthier lives.

Michelle Obama is today's Wednesday's Woman.

To encourage and educate her daughters about eating more natural home grown food as well as inspiring others, in 2009 Michelle Obama planted a kitchen garden at the White House. There were ups and downs, successes and challenges, but that garden is flourishing today. To share her knowledge from this experience as well as sharing tips about what worked, Michelle wrote American Grown: The Storyof the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America  and was published in 2012.

On February 09, 2010 the First Lady launched “Let's Move!”, an initiative to make the fight against our country's childhood obesity epidemic a serious priority.  Along with helping to empower families to live healthier lives, the Let's Move! web site includes information for schools, community leaders and even health care providers.

While some states are discussing the option to get rid of P.E. classes and looking for more ways to save money on school lunches, this initiative could not be more timely and needed.

The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report recommendations focus on the five pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:
1      Creating a healthy start for children
2      Empowering parents and caregivers
3      Providing healthy food in schools
4      Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
5      Increasing physical activity
Becoming a living example of the change you wish to create in the world is one of the most powerful things you can do. From her own garden and encouragement for her family to eat better to creating an initiative to help all of our children and families, Michelle Obama's message and hope for the next generation is clear:
The health and wellness of our future is too important to neglect or take for granted.  We can work together for a happier, healthier tomorrow.



(Be sure to check out Apps for Healthy Kids, a competitive project of Let's Move! which provides our tech savvy children with activities that support healthy food choices and exercise.)






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photo credit: USDAgov via photo pin cc photo credit: SodexoUSA via photo pin cc