"I want to leave something behind that we can say, 'Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.' And my hope is that that's going to be in the area of childhood obesity."-Michelle Obama.
The photo above shows Obama with the Miami Heat Basketball team after there win eating apples to send a positive message to kids about eating heathy and being better athletes. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center. Obesity is a prevalent social problem in today's society, with rates steadily increasing. According to the Weight Control Information Network, since the early 1960s, the prevalence of obesity among adults more than doubled, increasing from 13.4 to 35.7 percent in U.S. adults age 20 and older. In addition, today two in three adults are considered overweight or obese, and one in six children aged 6–19 are considered obese. Michelle Obama extended efforts of former first women toward healthy eating by planting the White House Kitchen Garden, an organic garden, the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady, and installing bee hives, on the South Lawn of the White House. She has also started up the program titled 'Lets Move!'. This program is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.
"In the end, as First Lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition."
"White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President | Let's Move!". Letsmove.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2012
"White House Photo Blog: Wednesday, June 17, 2009: First Garden".Time. June 17, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (January 14, 2010). "After a Year of Learning, the First Lady Seeks Out a Legacy". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
Andrea's biography of Michelle Obama captures how the First Lady has largely tied her political legacy to childhood obesity and nutrition. Considering the President's focus on the Affordable Care Act as his primary legislative legacy, Michelle Obama's focus on childhood obesity shows how both Obama's work together to draw public attention to some of the critical issues within public health debates. Furthermore, this biography provides a balance between information about this social issue and the First Lady's varied approaches to it. The ending quotation about "changing a generation" leaves us with the First Lady's faith in education, emphasizing that any lasting intervention in a social issue, including public health, relies on the investment from young people who will be the future voice of that change.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about Michelle Obamas biography. She is a very inspirational figure and I believe obesity is a serious problem in todays society. She has a lot of power and I love that she is trying to make a difference. There hasn't been a lot of first women who try and make a big impact. Instead of just getting the word out there about the problem she makes specific solutions for society to follow to decrease obesity. She is very passionate which makes her very creditable and makes people want to listen to her message.
ReplyDeleteThrough this biography, we can see that social issues can indeed be tackled! Michelle's story helps us to see how we can pick an issue that means a lot to us, see why its a problem, and take action against it. Michelle shows us that women can make a move against a social issue, as she is doing this separate from her husband's affordable care act. The idea that can be taken from this biography is one of being independent and taking action on an issue. This social issue is also very important in today's society, and Michelle shows us that no matter how prevelant the issue may seem, we can take steps to get the word out about it and try to help it.
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