By now, most of you have probably heard that First Lady Michelle Obama launched an initiative last week to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity. Her goals for the “Lets Move” campaign are clear: Improved school nutrition, better labeling of high-calorie foods and drinks, support for farmers’ markets, and a coordinated education campaign to help moms and dads instill good eating habits.
Several big corporations have already jumped on the bandwagon (don’t be fooled, they are most likely doing it as a necessary PR move, but at least someone is making them do something!!), PepsiCo issued a release saying, “To help consumers manage their calorie consumption, PepsiCo will list calorie content on the front of its beverage containers, vending machines and fountain equipment by the end of 2012. Packages up to 20 ounces will be labeled with total calories and multi-serve containers will be labeled with calories-per-serving based on 12-ounce servings.” The Dr Pepper Snapple Group issued a similar release.
Over the past two decades, the percentage of overweight adolescents nationwide has more than doubled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Therefore, improving nutrition in schools, where more than 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program, is a key component to changing the trend of obesity in this country.
Slow Food states that most children consume as many as half their daily calories at school. Obama hopes Congress will reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, which would improve the quality of the national school lunch and breakfast program. It would also get more fruits, vegetables, grains and low-fat dairy products into schools. But it won’t happen unless Congress passes the Child Nutrition Act.
Here is where you come in. Contact your legislator to tell them you support helping schools serve real food. It’s very simple, just click here to send an email to them.
Lets help Obama tackle this epidemic!
*Thanks to Comanche County (Kansas) Health Department for the graph.
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