Michelle Obama Unveils Public Health Childhood Obesity Plan

Back in February, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move! program to tackle the public health epidemic of childhood obesity, which the "Mom in Chief" has made her signature cause. This week, the task force released a report to the president with a large number of specific recommendations for actions that can be taken to address the problem, with the goal of reducing childhood obesity to a rate of 5 percent by 2030.

The recommendations are wide-ranging. A sampling:

• Hospitals and health care providers should use
  maternity care practices that empower new mothers to breastfeed,
  such as the Baby-Friendly hospital standards


• Federal and State agencies conducting health
  research should prioritize research into the effects of possibly obeso-
  genic chemicals


• Restaurants should consider their portion
  sizes, improve children's menus, and make healthy options the default choice whenever possible


• Federally-funded and private insurance plans
  should cover services necessary to prevent, assess, and provide care to
  overweight and obese children

As you can see, the suggestions enlist action from everyone from government officials, health care workers, schools, insurance companies, restaurants and marketing campaigns, to parents and families themselves. Many of the recommendations ask for voluntary actions, rather than mandated requirements. But they are specific, realistic and tangible ways to go about tackling the problem.

Also innovative is the fact that the report acknowledges the different environments children grow up in, which can contribute to obesity in various ways. One recommendation, for example, calls for sidewalk maintenance or the creation of sidewalks in public housing projects in order to allow kids to walk to school, thereby getting more exercise.

Some people argue that the recommendations don't go far enough. Dr. John G. Spangler writes at ABCNews.com that physicians should help lead the charge against this public health crisis:

One glaring example would be for the American Academy of Family Physicians -- the professional organization to which I belong -- to rescind its sponsorship by the Coca Cola Company for "health education." The AAFP's patient website, familydoctor.org, recently received a grant "in the strong six figures" to promote "education" on sweetened beverages and hydration. All supported by Coca Cola, which, coincidentally, is fighting against a beverage tax.

While that might be true, Michelle Obama deserves credit for creating such an inclusive approach that enlists so many facets of the communities to which children belong; and for distilling a complex problem into this simple message: "at the core of this endeavor is a simple concept we all embrace, which is that children should have good, nutritious food to eat and the chance to be physically active every day, so that they grow up into healthy adults."

Photo credit: Let's Move!