First Lady Michelle Obama visited Liberty City's Gwen Cherry Park this week to celebrate the fourth anniversary of her "Let's Move!" campaign. The initiative's aim is to fight childhood obesity in the United States through nutrition education as well as creating programs to supply kids with healthier snacks.
Michelle Obama made an announcement earlier this week about limiting junk-food marketing in schools and creating healthier options for kids during school hours. This week, she made an announcement that will provide these same choices after school.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Recreation and Park Association have joined the Partnership for a Healthier America. Both organizations agree they will provide healthy snacks during their after school programs.
"With these new commitments, kids will be getting a fruit or a vegetable at every meal and at every snack," the First Lady says. "They'll be drinking healthy beverages like water and low-fat milk, and they'll be getting active. They'll be moving around, at least 30 minutes a day."
The First Lady was joined by actress and comedian Amy Poehler for the announcement. Poehler plays a main character on the NBC show "Parks and Recreation."
"'Let's Move!' is an amazing initiative," Poehler says. "It's taking off a little bit faster than my initiative 'Let's Help Me Move,' which is not going as well."
All joking aside, the campaign says obesity among low-income preschoolers has declined in 19 states since Let's Move! began in 2010. The First Lady is now challenging the country to show how they move through social media. She says if enough photos and videos are posted on social media outlets with the hashtag #LetsMove, the President could show us a few moves of his own.
