First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to a group of officials from cities, towns and counties that have adopted her Let's Move! initiative for improving child nutrition and exercise. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)

First Lady Michelle Obama told leaders of her Let’s Move! Towns and Counties campaign Wednesday that they should “double down” on their efforts to fight childhood obesity and create healthier environments in their cities.

Speaking in a White House auditorium to representatives of 63 towns and cities that have joined her Let’s Move! campaign, the first lady first noted the success of the initiatives.

“Because of your passion and your dedication, in just three short years, 500 communities across America have joined Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties — 500. The means that nearly 80 million Americans are now living in a Let’s Move! city, town or county. And that is one in four people in this country — one in four people.”

According to the White House, each local elected official invited to the White House had pledged to achieve five goals to promote healthy living throughout their community:

1. Help early care and education providers incorporate best practices for nutrition and physical activity
2. Display USDA’s MyPlate logo in all municipal or county venues where food is served
3. Expand access to meal programs before, during and after the school day, and over summer months
4. Implement healthy and sustainable food service guidelines that are aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
5. Increase opportunities for physical activity

Obama said a child in a Let’s Move municipality or county might start the day by taking a ride or walk to school on a bike path or sidewalk, eat a healthy breakfast and lunch at school, run around at recess, then head to an afterschool sports league.

In the evening, the child might go home “to her parents where they cook her a healthy dinner using the MyPlate guidelines from a poster that you put up somewhere in your city” — and with the family heading to a local park for more exercise.

Michelle Obama
But Obama went on to say that she knows creating these conditions for healthier living is not easy.

“I know that all of you are dealing with tight budgets and competing priorities. And so often, the public conversation frames these issues as an either-or proposition — either our tax dollars go to “soft” things like playgrounds and healthy school meals, or they go to things like jobs and economic development.”

“But we all know that this is a false choice,” she said. “So many of you have told us that when you work to build healthier communities, companies take note, because that’s where they want to set up shop. They want to create jobs in vibrant communities with strong families and healthy employees.”

But, she said, “We have changed the culture in this country in the way we live and eat. We’ve changed it. And you see it every day in your communities. Fast-food places are serving apples and skim milk in their kids’ meals. Convenience stores are selling fruits and vegetables in places that were once food deserts. Folks are wearing those fitness bracelets, counting every step. Companies are actually rewarding employees for eating right and exercising.”

“And let’s just take a look at the numbers,” Obama said. “Today, 1.6 million kids attend healthier daycare centers right when they’re at the very beginning of life. Nearly 9 million kids attend Let’s Move! Active Schools, where they get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. And of course, because of our new nutrition standards — standards, by the way, that 95 percent of schools are successfully meeting — more than 30 million kids are eating healthier school breakfasts and lunches. There’s also a new survey that shows that 90 percent of Americans actually believe in having these kinds of standards for the food we feed our kids.”

“Child obesity rates have finally stopped rising for the first time in a very long time. And obesity rates are actually falling among our youngest children,” she said.

But she concluded, ”And now that we finally know what works and we finally see some progress, this just isn’t the time for us to pat ourselves on the back and say job well done. No, no, this is the time to double down …

“We all need to work together on this issue, because we know that issues like child nutrition, it’s not about politics. This is about giving our children a fair shot in life. It’s about ensuring that they have everything they need, everything we can do in our power to help them fulfill their boundless potential.”

The first lady also assured the audience that “I will be with you every step of the way. I’m in. I may be heading into my home stretch as first lady, but I intend to stick with this issue for the rest of my life, and I hope that all of you will, too.”