Let’s Move! with Michelle Obama

Abstract

In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! campaign to drastically reduce childhood obesity within one generation. Concurrently, President Barack Obama formed the first White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. Obesity is an urgent health issue for many Americans but is particularly problematic for American Indian/Native Alaskan, Black, and Hispanic children. Let’s Move! and the Task Force shared five goals: encourage healthy pregnancies and early childhood, empower parents and caregivers to make healthy choices, provide healthy food in schools, improve access to healthy affordable foods in communities, and increase physical activity. This chapter analyzes Let’s Move! literature, Michelle Obama’s speeches and writing, media coverage of the initiative, and Task Force reports to assess the initiative’s success in meeting these goals.