Thank you, First Lady Obama

The only complaint I have about the anti-obesity campaign and advocates is that they seem to be solely focused on children. It is vital to educate and empower everyone to do fight obesity and improve their health. It is not enough to assume that adults should know better or as simple to say to someone they should just not go to a fast food restaurant. By the same token, it is not enough for those people who've let themselves become food illiterate and solely dependent upon fast and quick foods, etc. as staples within their daily lives to ignore their health issues or worse continue to do nothing to prevent future health problems in the name of saying they have a disease. Everyone has a relationship with food. One of my co-workers told me about his sweet tooth and how he cannot just have one donut, he has to have two - that's an issue with food. Self-control is a huge part of the problem yes but self-awarness is an equal part of the problem. I can tell you what vegetables are but I cannot tell you how to cook them. I can look up recipes but that doesn't mean that I know what the heck the chefs are talking about when they ask me to braise, poach, etc., etc. An entire factor of the population is being left out of the debate when it comes to obesity as the focus remains on ways to stop childhood obesity yet the indisputable contributing factor to childhood obesity are adults. In the form of parents, schools, communities, etc. To that end, I'm all about Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initative for children because it also links information for parents, adults, and communities to get involved as well.

She also linked up with Beyonce to remix her "Get em Bodied" song to make it a work out to "Move your Body". I've included the official video and the work-out instructional version below. This work out is deceptive because it looks simple but no...your legs will burn and your heart rate will speed up and I think parents should do it with their kids and everyone else should do it as well. It's fun and I hope to join the movement videotaping themselves doing the workout (when I have it down and no, I won't be doing it in heels like she did!) because I want my nieces and nephews to know it's not all about sitting in front of a TV or being sucked into the world of gaming. I want them to know what I knew growing up - that you can get out, get fresh air, find adventures outdoors, build a fort, climb a tree, get dirty, get moving!