5 Reasons Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move is Destined to Disappoint

While commendable, Mrs. Obama’s effort is like a tooth whitening when what’s really needed is a root canal.

I agree that it’s very little very late, but at least the conversation is starting. I watched the campaign launch and I think Michelle did a lot to empower parents to look in the mirror, admit the real problem (we’re too busy, we don’t cook at home enough, and we let kids dictate food choices because it’s easier). She encouraged parents to decide to solve the problem and gave us hope that it is indeed a solvable problem. The solution doesn’t require policy change or medical advancements. We know the solution. Make better food choices, feed your family real food, even if they don’t like it. to quote the first lady “”Like many of you, when I was young, we walked to school every day, rain or shine, and in Chicago, we did it in wind, sleet, hail, and snow too,” she said. As a girl, she had recess twice a day and gym class twice a week, “and we spent hours running around outside when school got out. You didn’t go inside until dinner was ready—and when it was, we would gather around the table for dinner as a family. And there was one simple rule: you ate what Mom fixed—good, bad, or ugly. Kids had absolutely no say in what they felt like eating. If you didn’t like it, you were welcome to go to bed hungry. Back then, fast food was a treat, and dessert was mainly a Sunday affair. In my home, we weren’t rich. The foods we ate weren’t fancy. But there was always a vegetable on the plate. And we managed to lead a pretty healthy life.” for more of her encouraging words see the post I wrote earlier this week. http://foodwithkidappeal.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-ate-what-mom-fixed-good-bad-or-ugly.html

all initiatives have their downfalls. but we must act, and she’s acting. i say bravo. we who already know how to feed our families healthy food may know that more needs to be done. but think of all the families that are still feeding fast food and packaged snacks as their kid’s entire diet. they need to be empowered to do it differently.

thanks for keeping the conversation alive!

Great comment Jenna. I do admire and respect the first lady and certainly appreciate that she has taken this initiative. I also agree that ultimately it is up to the parents to set a standard for their kids and that they need to be empowered. The problem I have is with the approach, and as I see it, the ideas proposed under Healthy Choices pillar of the campaign are far from impressive. I would have loved to see some out of box ideas to “empower” parents to vote with their wallets at the supermarket. Like I said, I hope I am proven wrong. Want to fight the food industry and its marketing power? Why not “enroll” those parents who are already empowered to spread the word using social media? Why not encourage top marketing students from business schools to take up a community assignment and create a public awareness campaign that the government can fund to air on both social and traditional media? I am sure there is a lot of opportunity here – so I am very disappointed to see such lame ideas in the proposal.

I too admire and respect the initiative. You all make good points. But I also feel parents are counting on external sources to make their kids’ diets better. You said it: we are busy and we don’t have time to cook. If we change minor things in our lives we might be able to get a healthy dinner on the table. People want cheap food, yet, they’re willing to spend money on shoes, electronics, etc. And people start attacking the food system–which needs some work I admit–before they even look at what’s going on in their home. Before you fix the agricultural system, we as individuals and parents should make a slight effort to change our immediate environment. We are responsible to buy fruits and not junk too.

No matter what government, social media, schools, health professionals, whatever agency, you name it, does, it won’t have a real impact unless it comes from within. Families must have some motivation to do it for their own good.

Someone said that the ideas in this campaign are not new. This is not a bad thing. Sometimes, too many new things take people off balance. Maybe we need to keep saying it over and over again until it becomes ingrained.

Hello Nour
I think you make a good point about change coming from within. When I say that demand has to change in a fundamental way, this is what I mean. When consumer vote with their wallets at the supermarket, there is no doubt in my mind that innovation will happen in the industry and we all will benefit.
The question is – how will this “change from within” reach a tipping point so that it reaches critical mass and real change happens in terms of availability and accessibility of healthful food options?
Appreciate your contribution to this discussion!

I just got around to blogging about this myself. I also commend the first lady for taking this on. But I also think we need to stop focusing so much on getting people to eat “healthier.” This message doesn’t work because a lot of people do not want to give up the food they love. I know they don’t have to — but there is the belief that they have to choose between eating healthy and eating unhealthy. Clients always tell me that they don’t have time to cook healthy to lose weight and I tell them they don’t have to eat only healthy food. Maybe as a first step they just slow down at meal time and eat at the table instead in front of the TV. Once they have that down they can make a few more changes.

On my blog I’m trying to help people examine their barriers. When they say they don’t have time to prepare meals, I find that deep down they are really afraid. Maybe they never learned to cook or love chocolate or something else. When we find what’s really in the way then we are getting somewhere.

We need to give the American public easy steps so they can find a way that works for them instead of just telling them to eat healthier.

I know this isn’t what you were really asking for — I’m not sure if Let’s Move will work. I’m a little worred that the focus will be too much on weight instead of healthy habits but you can read my blog for more of that.

How will this change from within reach a tipping point?

I wish I have an answer to that. I think each person plays a role in the puzzle. As a dietitian, I try to inspire and empower those around me and people I work with. As a mother, I try to set an example for my family and show my friends who have kids that they can do it too. Some are interested, and some joke about “look what the dietitian is eating, she got salad instead of fries” ha ha… !

I think we all try to spread the message. It takes time and some sacrifices. I also don’t think we can change everyone and everything. It’s impossible to force anyone to eat healthy. So there will always be the food-conscious people and others won’t care as much. Hopefully it will follow a pattern similar to smoking and it will phase out with time.

Thanks for addressing this topic…

Great post, as always, and great comments!

Politics are difficult. I’m sure the right name for Michelle Obama’s campaign should have been “Let’s Eat Less Junk” and not “Let’s Move”, but in politics–you do what you can.

I agree with Jenna, that the most important aspect of this campaign is that childhood obesity is taking center stage. Parents, kids, voters need to hear any message many times before they’re stirred into action, and Mrs. Obama has a huge megaphone, that reaches far and wide. Her message will add up to what pediatricians, bloggers, parents, activists and many others are saying for a long time. At some point it will be loud enough to stand a chance against the counter-massage from big-food’s ads and marketing.

In the end, the only way for change is bottom-up, but raising awareness is one step ahead, even if nothing else is accomplished.

Great post. Feeling the need to sing my same old song…until we address first time parents in a comprehensive manner, and continue to support and educate them along the way, we will fail to have a true impact on childhood obesity. Let’s Move is a great beginning in garnering national awareness and interest.
My opinion and experience is that parents are dramatically under-informed–gone are the days when your mother came to help you feed your baby, when extended families came together once a week to eat, when pediatricians had the time to answer all the questions of a new parent. Our current culture of new parents figure out whether they are breast-feeding or formula feeding, transition to organic baby food (after much research and investigation), and then lose their way—with no time to learn what and how to feed, and under the assailment of nutrition fads and mis-information…parents are at such a disadvantage in this mandatory area of child-rearing. So until our country addresses this aspect of prevention, I will hope for the best.