In the recent positive shadow of September’s Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, First Lady Michelle Obama continued her efforts yesterday to help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic plaguing our nation’s kids.
According to WhiteHouse.gov, “Yesterday something special happened as people around the world joined together towards the same goal: to set a Guinness World Record® for the most people from around the world do jumping jacks for one minute.”
The First Lady in collaboration with National Geographic Magazine led more than 400 children on the White House Lawn to “jump-start” the event.
Michelle Obama has been leading a nationwide initiative entitled, “Let’s Move,” to help combat childhood obesity. The First Lady says, “Let’s Move is about kids eating healthy and moving and staying active, so you all are ready for life and for all the challenges that you’re going to face.
"And what we’re going to show people today is that moving is fun, right? You can do it just dancing around in your backyard. You can get moving if you’re walking your dog. Or you can get moving doing some jumping jacks, right? There are so many ways to keep moving.”
Acording to HealthierKidsBrighterFutures.org, “More than 23 million children and teenagers in the U.S. are obese or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider an epidemic.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has also made their own recommendations to help in this epidemic and suggests, “that children and teens should participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity daily. They encourage parents to be active as well, to set an example for their children. Being physically active can include everything from taking a walk as a family, to playing tag or getting kids involved in organized sports or dance classes.”
Sources:
“First Lady Michelle Obama Leads Jumping Jacks World Record – WhiteHouse.Gov.” The White House Blog. Web 13 Oct. 2011.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/12/first-lady-michelle-obama-leads-jumping-jacks-world-record
“Childhood Obesity is a National Epidemic – HealthierKidsBrighterFutures.org.” Healthier Kids Brighgter Futures. Web 13 Oct. 2011.
http://www.healthierkidsbrighterfutures.org/about/
“Tips for Parents – Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight – CDC.gov.” Centers for Disease Control. Web 12 Oct. 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/
Joanne Sgro-Killworth is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training.
Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her husband, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.
Reviewed October 13, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith