“Let’s Move!” is a nutrition education program created by the First Lady, Michelle Obama to solve the problem of childhood obesity. The goal of the program is to decrease the childhood obesity rate to 5%. Their website is very kid-friendly. There are many bright colors to draw the viewer in. The website features many links to healthy recommendations and tips. One feature is the “Get Active” section.
This section educates people on the importance of exercising and getting not only kids but also older people to get active. The website has many tips and advice for families, schools, and communities to get more active. The article starts with why being active is good for us. It continues by listing all the harmful diseases working out can prevent, such as heart disease and stroke. “Let’s Move!” recommends that children be vigorously active for 60 minutes each day and adults 30 minutes.
http://www.letsmove.gov/
What I found most surprising is that kids from 8 to 18 years old spend on average 7 1/2 hours sitting in front of a screen. They have so much extra time to watch tv and movies, play video games, and play on the computer, yet only one third of high schoolers get the recommended amount of exercise.
The most interesting part of the program was reading about “How We Got Here” as a society.1/3 of children are overweight and obese. However, children were not always this overweight. Children are much less active today then they were 30 years ago. Children used to walk to and from school, run around outside after school before dinner, and portion sizes are 2 to 5 times bigger.
A nutrition educator would use this nutrition education in a gym class or health class setting to show the kids the lifestyle changes they need to make. The program lists the recommendations and changes needed to prevent childhood obesity.
“Let’s Move!” is a great step in the right direction to get this country where it needs to be. It will be a long journey, but very necessary for the future of our children.