Column: Let's Move! is not moving forward

February marked the two year anniversary of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, but little change has come with that anniversary.

The first lady’s program to end childhood obesity has not lived up to its potential and has been ineffective because it has aimed at soft targets. The campaign has failed to make the hard political decisions needed to see actual progress in the fight.

The campaign’s goals to increase the amount and variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains while decreasing saturated fat and sodium in children’s diets are not specific or aggressive enough to cause change.

While progress has been slow, some has been made. In January, changes were made to the National School Lunch program including limiting sugary drinks and saturated fats.

Efforts have also been made to improve access to nutritious foods for inner-city children.

Still, more effective goals are needed to target the factors responsible for childhood obesity in the U.S. These include taxing unhealthy foods and beverages, preventing junk food advertisers from targeting children, requiring traffic-light dietary labels on foods and instituting programs to reduce the number of hours a day children spend watching television.

The name Let’s Move! signifies that its premise is for children across the country to increase physical activity, not necessarily eat less. The strategic naming is evocative of the multi-million dollar lobbying power of the food and beverage industry.

Progress made by the European Union to restrict advertising to children has resulted in European children now seeing 79 percent less advertising of junk food on kid’s programming than they did in 2005, according to a study in Food Chemistry News.

Responsible for the change are actions by major food companies including Kellogg’s, Mars, Nestlé, Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, including making a pledge to only advertise “healthful” products to children younger than 12 on their websites.

The willingness of these companies to impose voluntary restrictions in Europe is a far cry from the way food lobbyists in the U.S. work with government.  

In 2008, the U.S. food and beverage industry spent more than $16 million to ensure legislation, including a “soda tax” and limits on aggressive advertising, would never pass.

The influence of lobbyists hasn’t slowed during the last four years and has made it impossible for major changes to be made to the National School Lunch Program and dietary guidelines.

The end of childhood obesity is still no closer in sight. Until more radical and politically aggressive steps are taken by programs such as the Let’s Move! campaign, it will continue to be a slow-moving and difficult battle.

­— hsspence@indiana.edu