Let’s Move! is a campaign initiated by the First Lady, Michele Obama, dedicated to fighting childhood obesity for this generation, and future generations to come. Let’s Move! targets children from their earliest months and years to begin their journey to a healthier lifestyle. The campaign itself is a multi-dimensional approach to help fight childhood obesity. First, Let’s Move! strives to provide parents with helpful information to create an environment that supports healthy choices. The campaign also focuses in on getting schools to provide healthier food options to their students. Not surprisingly, The First Lady’s campaign also aims to ensure that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. Lastly, Let’s Move! encourages and challenges kids to physically active for at least 60 minutes a day. Let’s Move! stresses the importance of participation and activism to reduce childhood obesity from parents, elected official from government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community organizations, as well as private sector companies.

Reason for Let’s Move!:

According to the Let’s Move! website, over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and currently in the US today, one in three children are overweight or obese. In African American and Hispanic communities, nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. Not only is this a problem for America’s youth, but also for their futures, as they get older. It is estimated that if there is not direct action to amend childhood obesity, consequently one and three children born in 2000 or late will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Man other will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

More Facts:

• One in five school-age children has up to six snacks a day.

• Portion sizes have also exploded- they are now two to five times bigger than they were in years past. Beverage portions have grown as well- in the mid-1970s, the average sugar-sweetened beverage was 13.6 ounces compared to today, kids think nothing of drinking 20 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages at a time.

• In total, we are now eating 31 percent more calories than we were forty years ago–including 56 percent more fats and oils and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners. The average American now eats fifteen more pounds of sugar a year than in 1970.

• Only one-third of high school students get the recommended levels of physical activity.

Team Goal:

The focus of our project is to analyze the different types of public relations used by Let’s Move via social media, celebrities, special events, and interviews to fight against childhood obesity and future childhood obesity. The time frame we are working with is from February 9, 2010, the day the campaign was launched, to current day.