Michelle Obama took on childhood obesity with her Let’s Move! campaign after moving into the white house, seeking a healthier future for our nation’s children.

A monumental task, to be sure, but with worldwide obesity rates at an all-time high, and one out of every three children considered obese in the United States (30%), I commend her for taking it on.

So how are things going, one year later?

The amount of schools participating in the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) has doubled in the past year, which was a key component of the initiative. This program also rewards schools for excellence in promoting nutrition and physical activity.

Monetary awards are offered to school cafeterias to provide healthier menus for kids, in the hopes of raising a healthier generation of children, and to compel schools to adhere more to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The No. 1 award is worth $2,000 for the Gold Award of Distinction.

Denver Public Schools recruited chefs to show kids that healthy foods could be delicious, affordable, and locally-grown.

Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo jumped on board to help out with his “Huddle” PSA spot released last month, encouraging kids to get healthy & active by joining the “Fuel up to Play 60” movement. Watch Tony Romo’s PSA Spot by clicking on SchoolTube.com.

When I think about being a fat kid myself, and then struggling with my weight for so many years as an adult, I sure wish I could have nipped things in the bud when I was a child. Of course, then there would be no “Living Thin” blog, where I could pass on tips and inspiration on living the thin lifestyle to others.

Visit the Let’s Move! website for more success stories, ideas and blogs from students, parents, schools and chefs everywhere. Be sure and watch the video of Michelle, as she documents the past year of Let’s Move!, and and talks about plans for the future.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 4th, 2011 at 8:55 am and is filed under Health. Tags for this post: Bathroom scale, BMI, buffet restaurants, Burning Calories, calorie, Calorie Calculator, Calorie Counting, calorie myths, Counting Calories, Diet, Diet Ideas, fat grams, hcg, Health, Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyle, Keeping Weight Off, Lap-Band, Living Thin, Living Well, Losing Pounds, maintaining weight, nutrition, overeaters anonymous, real age, Restaurant Eating, Scales, thermic vegetables, trans-fat, Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, weight management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.