By: Ms. K

   The scale does not lie, it reflect a number that shows how much a person weighs. Each and everyday people step on the scale and slowly become overwhelmed by the weight that is reflected on the screen. In society that has an overwhelming concern with obesity, it’s hard to find acceptance for loving one self without a negative reaction if it’s not an ideal body shape. “Let’s Move” is a campaign that First Lady Michelle Obama started in 2010 aim to develop a healthy lifestyle for children. The overall goal for the campaign is to change a child’s life, and realize it takes all factors involved for it to happen. Loving oneself is the major key for happiness.

Michelle Obama launched the “Let’s Move” campaign February 9, 2010. “Let’s Move” campaign is surrounded around making children develop a healthy lifestyle. The campaign started because of the overwhelming increase of obesity in children. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) stated “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. If we don’t change how children become active at a young age it would only get worse as they get older.” It’s hard to ignore the constant reminder that being overweight takes years of a person’s life, developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic health issues related to obesity. A change needs to be made for children to have a healthy lifestyle, and to become healthy adults.

The increase in obesity didn’t happen over night. It took over 30 years for the alarming increase to appear in our current generation of children. Imagine 30 years ago how being a child was different. The lifestyle was not absorbed into technology; schools were not cutting after school sport activities. Children 30 years ago had a different atmosphere, a different level of physical activity to help keep them involved and active. Shute (2013) states “children today take 90 seconds longer to run a mile than kids did 30 years ago, according to date from 28 countries. Children’s aerobic fitness had declined by 5 percent since 1975.” The “Let’s Move” (2010) states that “8 to 18 year old adolescents spend an average of 7.5 hours a day using entertainment media, TV, computers, video games, cell phones and movies, and only one third of high school students get the recommend levels of physical activity.” We need to change this statistics. The goals are for everyone to have the right tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We just need to implement these change so that children can have a healthier life into adulthood.

“Let’s Move” was launched to give children a pathway for a healthier future with proper tools. Its not only children that needs to be involve to accomplish this lifestyle change. “Let’s Move” (2010) states “ everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professional, faith-based and community-based organization, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children.”  It has to be a group effort like the saying it takes a “village to raise a child.” Everyone needs to be active to make this program effective and successful to thoroughly see change.

To make change you have to Get Active. Having a healthy lifestyle is key for success and change. Everyday taking part in some sort of physical activity has a better long term effect then being non-active.  The campaign goal is to become more active in school and with family members. It makes it very clearly being active involve more then 60 minutes for children and 30 minutes for adults.  They have five simple step-by-step strategies for each parents, schools, community, elected officials, chefs, and kids. They even have a PALA challenge which stands for Presidential Active Lifestyle Award. The challenge “adopt these simple ways to increase your daily activity and improve your eating habits, and you’ll see a healthier you in just six weeks. ” The challenge is design for anyone all you have to do is visit the President’s Challenge website and create an account.

It’s not impossible to gain a level of acceptance, but people need to be ready to make change. People are creatures of habits that get stuck in a certain routine without realizing that change is needed if they want a healthier lifestyle. I know being a former elementary teacher in a Title 1 school every morning they try to make the students get up and move by doing workout routines. While the students only had physical education for 20 minutes, they did offer healthier meals for lunch. It was a move to increase physical activity in the school. I believe that the Let’s Move campaign is heading in the right direction by making children develop a healthier lifestyle with the help from their parents. To see change we have to be able to fight for it as Maxwell (2013) states “ the obesity rates for low income preschoolers has gone down in 19 stats between 2008 and 2011.”

The campaign is advocating change within ourselves to live better and healthier. Everybody have a vital role in making this campaign succeed. Children can only achieve as much as their supportive family, schools, and local communities leaders are providing. Change is needed if we want a better future where children do not face obesity as an option.

Reference

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2013). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

Cohen, E. ( 2014). “Let’s Move! Anniversary: Four Years of Showing How We’ re Moving Forward a Healthier Nation.” Retrieved from http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2014/02/09/let’s-move-anniversary-four-years-showing-how-we’re-moving-towards-healthier-nation

Let’s Move (2010). Retrieved from http://www.letsmove.gov

Maxwell, Z. (2013). “ Michelle Obama gets the last laugh with “Let’s Move”. Retrieved from http://thegrio.com/2013/08/07/michelle-obama-gets-the-last-laugh-with-lets-move/

Shute, N. (2013). “Kids Are Less Fit Today Then You Were Back Then.” Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/20/246316731/kids-are-less-fit-today-than-you-were-back-then