February 9, 2010 10:09 AM

Obamas Unveil Plan to Fight Childhood Obesity

By
Peter Maer
Topics
White House
(AP)
First Lady Michelle Obama's new initiative to fight childhood obesity will center on solving the challenge "within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight."

As he signed a memorandum on a 90-day plan to coordinate the effort, President Obama today called childhood obesity "one of the most urgent health issues we face in this country."

The administration will push for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, with "an historic" $10 billion investment over 10 years to improve the quality of school meals. The initiative includes new commitments from four major school food suppliers to to decrease sugar, fat and salt in school meals. The plan also calls for an increase in whole grain and produce served in schools.

More than 30 million children participate in the federal school lunch program. The White House notes many of them consume more than half their daily calories at school.

Mrs. Obama is also announcing a Food and Drug Administration plan to promote front-of-packaging nutritional labeling on food products.

The First Lady's campaign against childhood obesity will use the slogan "Let's Move."

(CBS)
Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

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