Thousands join US first lady for fitness outing

Des Moines, Iowa:  Wild arm swings, sharp robotic turns, pulsing fist pumps.

Michelle Obama busted out a few new moves on Thursday (yesterday in UAE time) to mark the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity with a few new friends — 14,000 or so, it turns out.

The first lady rocked out with thousands of sixth- to ninth-graders at a Des Moines arena on the first stop of a three-day trip to highlight her ‘Let's Move' campaign. It was a giant pep rally for eating right and exercising, complete with confetti, balloons and a towering birthday cake made of fruit.

The first lady and crowd revved up by doing the Interlude, a dance that started in a dorm room at the University of Northern Iowa and spread from there.

Obama chose Iowa for her first stop because it is working to become the nation's healthiest state by 2016, as measured by the Gallup organisation. It ranked 19th in 2010, the most recent rankings. Obama sold healthy eating to the children as something fun, but also dangled the bait that it could help them "pass your tests and get good grades in school."

The first lady took on the issue of childhood obesity because almost a third of US children are at least overweight, and about 17 per cent are obese.

In the two years since she launched her campaign, she has brought substantial new visibility to the childhood obesity issue and has prodded schools, families, restaurants, grocery stores, doctors, local communities and others to do more to tackle the problem.

Attitude shift

Robert Blendon, a Harvard University professor who tracks public opinion on health care, said Obama has helped bring about a shift in attitude, with childhood obesity increasingly being viewed as a societal problem rather than a personal matter. She's given people tangible ideas on how to eat better and exercise more rather than talking in broad concepts that don't hit home with parents, he said. "It's getting into people's conversations in ways that it would not have been if someone had not taken it on," Blendon said.

The first lady herself said recently she's "pretty much willing to make a complete fool out of myself" to get kids moving and eating better.