Michelle Obama Makes South Florida Stop
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - First Lady Michelle Obama made a South Florida stop Friday as part of her "Let's Move" healthy initiatives tour.
Mrs. Obama visited a Homestead YMCA for the "WebMD Town Hall: Simple Tips For Healthy Families." The First Lady and a panel of WebMD experts will hold a question and answer panel in front of a live audience to provide guidance about children's health and wellness, in addition to steps South Florida families can take to implement healthy eating strategies in their homes.
Other Florida stops on the multi-state tour include Orlando and Longwood.
Mrs. Obama kicked off the tour Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. She chose the Hawkeye State for her first stop because it is working to become the nation's healthiest state by 2016, as measured by the Gallup organization. It ranked 19th in 2010, the most recent rankings.
She sold healthy eating to the kids as something fun, but also dangled the bait that it could help them "pass your tests and get good grades in school."
There were plenty of sports celebrities on hand to help pump up the crowd, including gymnast Shawn Johnson, figure skater Michelle Kwan, NASCAR champion Carl Edwards, Iowa State basketball coach Fred Hoiberg and former WNBA star Tamika Catchings.
The first lady took on the issue of childhood obesity because almost a third of U.S. children are at least overweight, and about 17 percent are obese.
In the two years since Mrs. Obama launched her campaign, she has brought substantial new visibility to the childhood obesity issue and has prodded schools, families, restaurants, grocery stores, doctors, local communities and others to do more to tackle the problem.
Before leaving for the Sunshine State, she was visiting Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas to announce a new program to improve the meals served on military bases. And she was having dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, to chat with parents about the challenges of getting kids to eat right.
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