Healthy Kids, Healthy Future

Nemours Joins Forces with First Lady and Partners to Address Childhood Obesity

We are extremely excited to announce that yesterday Nemours joined First Lady Michelle Obama at the announcement of her new campaign to end childhood obesity, LetsMove!. We also wanted to share that Nemours is working with the First Lady as one of the founding members of a new foundation formed to bring together the public and private sectors, other organizations, business and thought leaders, the media, and states and local communities to make meaningful and measurable commitments to fighting childhood obesity. At the announcement, Nemours Vice President Debbie Chang had the opportunity to speak with Secretaries Sebelius and Vilsack, as well as the Surgeon General, about child care settings and the need to focus obesity prevention in this area.

The Let’s Move Campaign shares many goals articulated at the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future conference and is focused on offering parents the tools and information they need; getting healthier food into our nation’s schools; ensuring that all our families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities; and increasing opportunities for kids to be physically active, both in and out of school.

This initiative has three parts:

1. National Plan of Action: Yesterday, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum establishing the first ever White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. You’ll be pleased to see that this interagency Task Force includes the Secretaries of Health, Education and Agriculture, among others. Like the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Conference and Steering Committee, this Task Force is charged with collaborating across silos to meet the challenge of childhood obesity. The Task Force will report to the President within 90 days a national plan of action to meet the national goal of eliminating childhood obesity in a generation.

2. New Foundation: To serve as a partner to the First Lady’s Office and Task Force, a new foundation, founded by The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Nemours, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, will serve as a nonpartisan convener across the private, non-profit and public sectors to accelerate existing efforts addressing childhood obesity and to facilitate commitments towards the First Lady’s national goals.

3. Administration Actions and Private Sector Commitments: At yesterday’s launch, the First Lady announced new Administration policies and benchmarks, and voluntary private sector commitments, including many of the recommendations we heard from you at the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Conference.

As champions for obesity prevention in early care and education, we know you share our excitement that the First Lady has taken on childhood obesity as her signature issue. The innovative work you have done in communities, states and nationally will be a key resource that Nemours can bring to this initiative. We are committed to our shared goal of preventing obesity in children ages birth to five, and we pledge to offer this perspective as a founding member of the Partnership for a Healthier America.

More information about the Let’s Move campaign and the Partnership for a Healthier America:

Article in USA Today: Michelle Obama aims to end childhood obesity in generation

Press Release: New Foundation Will Bring Americans Together to Target Childhood Obesity

Let’s Move

Partnership for A Healthier America

White House Memorandum