Let's Move!
Let's Move! was a public health campaign in the United States led by First Lady Michelle Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children. The initiative had the initially stated goal of "solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight". Let's Move! sought to decrease childhood obesity to 5% by 2030. Despite its goal, the Let's Move! initiative did not cause a decline in obesity rates. In 2008, 68% of Americans were either overweight  or obese. By 2016, that number jumped to 71.2%. In 2018, more than 73.1% of Americans were either overweight or obese with African-American women leading the nation in obesity rates. History. The campaign was announced on February 9, 2010, by Michelle Obama. The campaign was funded by diverting money away from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). Obama indicated the campaign would encourage healthier food in schools, better food labeling and more physical activity for children. On the same date, Obama signed a presidential memorandum creating the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to review current programs and develop  a national action plan. The Task Force reviews policy and programs related to child nutrition and physical activity. It hopes to create change through a national action plan with five goals: The White House Task Force hoped to bring the childhood obesity rate down to five percent by 2030. In 2011, a song, "Move Your Body", was released to promote the campaign called "Let's Move! Flash Workout". The song was by Beyoncé featuring Swizz Beatz, and the video was filmed in a school cafeteria where Beyoncé was dancing with children. The initiative was led for several years by Sam  Kass, the personal chef to the Obamas who became the first-ever White House Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition. He was succeeded in 2015 as both executive director of Let's Move! and Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition by Debra Eschmeyer, a cofounder of FoodCorps. Since the Let's Move! initiative was a collaboration of many government agencies and private entities, it lacked full-time employees. Department heads, business executives, volunteers, teachers, legislators, and others carry out the mission and goals of Let's Move! in conjunction with their primary work obligations. Michelle Obama is the chief spokeswoman and promoter , but she does not have staff solely dedicated to carrying out the Let's Move! initiative. Childhood obesity. Body mass index (BMI) is a measurement of weight in relation to height that can help to determine weight status. In children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines that a child is overweight if they are above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile and obese if at or above the 95th percentile. The CDC indicates that there are several factors that can contribute to childhood obesity: genetic factors; behavioral factors including energy intake, physical activity and  sedentary behavior; and environmental factors. Overweight and obesity pose many potential risks and consequences: psychological; cardiovascular disease; among additional risks including asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes. Today nearly one in five children in the U.S. between ages 6–19 are obese, and one in three are overweight. The childhood obesity rate tripled from 1980 to 1999 creating an epidemic and a generation where children may have shorter life spans than their parents.steff" The "Let's Move!" initiative focuses on the reform of behavioral factors and environmental factors by focusing on active lifestyles and healthy eating through community  involvement, including but not limited to schools, parents, work places, and healthcare providers. Nutrition. To promote healthy eating, the "Let's Move!" initiative emphasizes nutrition information, a next generation food "icon", food nutrition labeling and having pediatricians as partners. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) presents its Let's Move food choice guidelines on the webpage called MyPlate, located at ChooseMyPlate.gov. Guidelines take the form of "half all grains eaten should be whole grains" and 37 nutrition tips. "Let's Move!" also provides consumers with nutrition information through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (or FDA)'s "New Front -of-Package Labeling Initiative" and "New Menu and Vending Machines Labeling Requirements". "Let's Move!" advocates healthy eating habits to be promoted by families, schools, and communities. "Let's Move!" urges mothers to eat more healthily when pregnant and offers links to a special "MyPyramid Plan for Moms" so they can create a personalized and healthy diet. The initiative also provides guidelines for parents to set up and promote healthy eating habits for their entire family and children. In order for healthier eating to be promoted at schools, "Let's Move!" promotes the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge. Random House  publishers has said Michelle Obama will be writing a book on her White House garden, and her family's favorite healthy cooking ideas. Community involvement. For Let's Move to work effectively, communities would need to be involved, schools would need to implement health programs, and parents would need to teach their children healthy habits. The following sections describe how organizations and businesses had gotten involved in this nationwide movement. Chefs Move to Schools. "Chefs Move to Schools" was founded in May 2010 as part of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign. The Chefs Move to Schools  program is a nationwide effort to teach culinary skills to school children and to get them to try new, healthful food options. Professional chefs volunteer a specified amount of their time to cook with students and/or to help train school workers in how to prepare and provide food in a healthier manner. As of February 2, 2012 about 3,500 schools were partnered with professional chefs in an effort to educate students about a healthier diet in an entertaining and appealing way. The program is also figure headed by Chef Sam Kass, an assistant chef at the White House and the  Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives. Food Network star Rachael Ray also publicly supports the program and has encouraged children to be involved in the kitchen on episodes of her show "Rachael Ray". Other partners of the program include the School Nutrition Association, the American Culinary Federation, Cooking Matters, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Culinary Trust, the Partnership for a Healthier America, Cornell University, Philip Lempert the Supermarket Guru, the Harvard School of Public Health, the International Corporate Chefs Association, and the Food Service Management Institute. Chefs can sign up to participate in the program on the  website on the official Chefs Move to Schools website to be matched with a school in their area. They can select any or all of what they are interested in: helping to plant a school garden, teaching children about healthier living in the classroom, helping officials to develop school lunch menu items, and training students about culinary skills in the kitchen. On the application, chefs are also asked to provide information about their qualifications and training. Chefs are asked to specify how many hours they can devote to the program and which days of the week they can volunteer. These  profiles are matched with other profiles that are created by schools to become an official partnership. Once the partnership is created, Chefs Move to Schools provides schools and chefs with resources to help them get started and to help guide both parties through a successful process. Business involvement. Private businesses have also decided to make changes to improve healthy habits for kids. For example, Disney now requires that all foods sold and advertised have to follow nutritional guidelines of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption while decreasing calorie count. Also, Walgreens, Superval, and Walmart have announced building or expanding stores in  areas that have limited access to healthy foods. Physical activity. The CDC recommends that children engage in one hour or more of physical activity every day. It states that children should do three different types of activity: aerobic activity, muscle strengthening, and bone strengthening. "Let's Move!" looks to promote physical activity through the support and cooperation of families, schools, and communities. On children, the initiative states, "Those who feel supported by friends and families or are surrounded by others interested in physical activity, are more likely to participate." "Let's Move!" also provides several guidelines for schools to promote  physical activity, including strong physical education programs, and indicates the subsidizing of such guidelines with several government programs. Guidelines by which physical activity can be promoted in communities are also outlined on the "Let's Move!" website. Impact evaluation. The Center for Disease Control publishes obesity rates broken down by age group. The report found that between 2009 and 2012, the obesity rate dropped by 3.7 percentage points among children aged 2–5, dropped by 0.3 points among those aged 6–11, and increased by 2.1 points among those aged 12–19. By 2015, childhood obesity rates had not changed much since 2008  but had dropped significantly among the youngest children; the exact impact that "Let's Move!" has had on these trends is uncertain. Collaboration. Let's Move faces a challenge: effective coordination between all involved agencies, companies, non-profits, and levels of government. Dr. Susanna Campbell, an international relations scholar, and Michael Harnett, an international business professional, conducted research and discussed the barriers to coordination, the main concepts of coordination, and recommendations for improving coordination. Rodrigo Serrano also provides insight into creating incentive programs to promote coordination. Organizations are sovereign and the individuals within are accountable first to their organization and  second to the coordination effort. Conflicts can arise when the goals of the coordination process don't align well with an agency's main goals. If there is a pressing problem to solve, it acts as its own incentive for coordination as long as the problem involves a possibility to find a coordinated solution. Of all the incentive programs proposed, an incentive system involving recognition may be the most effective and efficient. Agencies and organizations associated with Let's Move could receive an award as a result of making a positive impact according to Let's Move's goals and  mission. Organizations could report their impact to the Task Force, and Michelle Obama could recognize the organizations that engaged the most and had the greatest impact. The award would also help remind organizations of the importance of working together to solve the problem of childhood obesity. Let's Move could also improve its coordination process by establishing clear field officers in each associated organization and have them report to a central authority figure, like the Task Force on Childhood Obesity. The improved coordination process would make sure each organization or agency is accountable and that there isn't overlap or  redundancy Let's Move! Flash Workout. Let's Move! Flash Workout is a 2011 initiative by R&B singer Beyoncé in collaboration with Michelle Obama, and the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation to help boost her campaign against child obesity. Beyoncé reworked the 2007 hit "Get Me Bodied" and changed the title to "Move Your Body" for the "Let's Move! Flash Workout" initiative. A Spanish version was also created. The lyrics were switched to fit the cause. The new lyrics include the line: "Don't just stand there on the wall, everybody just move your body, move your body , move your body." The song is a step-by-step flash dance-style workout that combines hip hop, Latin and dancehall moves with traditional exercise. On April 9, 2011, an instructional video featuring a group of teenagers dancing to "Move Your Body" was released online. After a few days, Beyoncé has said that she "would record her own version of the exercise routine" to show kids how it is done by shooting a new music video featuring a series of fun workouts to accompany the track. On April 26, 2011, Beyoncé released a video of her own version of the  exercise routine. Concerning the campaign, Beyoncé expressed: I am excited to be part of this effort that addresses a public health crisis. First Lady Michelle Obama deserves credit for tackling this issue directly, and I applaud the NAB Education Foundation for trying to make a positive difference in the lives of our schoolchildren. Section::::"Move Your Body". Beyoncé reworked her original "Get Me Bodied" (2007) into what has been described as a "kid-friendlier" track titled "Move Your Body" in 2011. Choreography was created by Frank Gatson, who additionally created the choreography for "Single Ladies". On April 9, 2011, an instructional  video featuring a group of teenagers dancing to "Move Your Body" was released online. After a few days, Beyoncé explained that she "would record her own version of the exercise routine" to show kids how it is done by shooting a new music video featuring a series of fun workouts to accompany the track. On April 26, 2011, Beyoncé released a video directed by Melina Matsoukas for "Move Your Body". In the video, students join Beyoncé to perform choreography by Frank Gatson. In the choreography, Beyoncé and the students "mix salsa, dancehall, and the running man." The music video for  Move Your Body takes place as a four-minute long flash mob. The video begins during lunch hour at what looks like a junior high cafeteria. Everything is status quo until Beyoncé, wearing short shorts and green knee-high socks, enters the cafeteria doors to begin the song. After Beyoncé's entry, all the kids jump to their feet, following along as Beyoncé leads the group through all kinds of dances. The instructional video was distributed to participating schools across the country on May 3, 2011, during a 'dance-in'. Beyoncé was at P.S. 161 middle school in Harlem on  that particular date. She taught students the moves from her "Move Your Body" video. Beyoncé appeared in the gym much to the delight of her young fans, who danced alongside her and took photos. Lauretta Charlton of Black Entertainment Television (BET) gave the video a positive review stating that "It's impossible to watch without wanting to, well, move your body." Nicole James of MTV Buzzworthy showed great interest in the video and its message, stating that Beyoncé gets kids heart pumping, "in more ways than one". Genevieve Koski of "The A.V. Club" added that "if anything can help curb  the nation's childhood obesity problem, it is the galvanizing power of Beyoncé Knowles dancing", and further praised how "[the] bunch of cute kids [were] doing the Running Man and The Dougie in the cafeteria with Beyoncé."