Michelle Obama to appear on Dr. Oz show to plug Let’s Move campaign
The appearance is due to be filmed this Wednesday, August 29, and to be screened on Friday, September 14. Timed to coincide with the start of the new school year, Mrs. Obama is expected to highlight improvements in the school nutrition guidelines, including increasing the whole grain, low-fat dairy, and fruit and vegetable content of school lunches, and to reveal improvements to the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.
Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move initiative in February 2010, with the stated aim of ending childhood obesity within a generation.
The food industry, including major trade organizations such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the American Beverage Association, was quick to pledge its support to the Let’s Move cause in 2010, when GMA president and CEO Pamela Bailey said: “We agree that everyone has a role to play, including industry. We embrace our responsibility.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement: “Mrs. Obama works tirelessly to focus our nation on prevention and educate youth about the critical need to eat right and stay active. This message of prevention will imprint good habits on a generation of young people and result in longer lives and less disease. I am humbled and honored that the First Lady will appear on our show to ignite this conversation with my audience.”
On the second anniversary of the initiative’s launch earlier this year, Michelle Obama highlighted some of the specific initiatives developed by industry, including the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), which has pledged to remove 1.5trn calories from the food supply by the end of 2015, through a combination of reducing portion sizes of single-serve products, providing more lower-calorie options, and reformulation. The HWCF has more than 170 members, including food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, NGOs, and trade organizations.
Currently, about 17% of US children aged 2-19 are obese, and the rate has tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
