Today is World Health Day! Every year the World Health Organization celebrates it’s founding with World Health Day.
The WHO uses World Health Day to highlight and bring awareness to a common health concern. This year’s focus is on diabetes, which affects over 350 million people worldwide.
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“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,†says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director-general. “Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes.â€
In honor of World Health Day, let’s take a look back at the work of a committed, tireless advocate for promoting healthy eating and physical activity: First Lady, Michelle Obama.
- Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010. Let’s Move! was designed to combat “the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.”
- That same day, President Obama created the Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which focuses on five goals: (1) Creating a healthy start for children (2) Empowering parents and caregivers (3) Providing healthy food in schools (4) Improving access to healthy, affordable foods (5) Increasing physical activity
- Michelle has stressed that schools must do their part in helping children achieve healthy lifestyles, which is why she pushed for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The Act is a 5-year bill that encourages schools to serve healthier, more nutritional lunches by restricting their access to federal funding if they do not comply.
- The FLOTUS has faced plenty of attacks from her more, um, robust critics for pushing this legislation. In January Chris Christie (failed presidential candidate and current Trump endorsee), said that Michelle Obama “has no business being involved” in trying to ensure that all children have access to healthy, nutritional meals. We think Chris Christie has no business eating this giant bag of M&M’s, but that’s just us….
- Michelle Obama hopes that Let’s Move will help bring the childhood obesity rate down to 5% by 2030.
To learn more about World Health Day:Â http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2016/en/
To learn about Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative:Â http://www.LetsMove.gov/