Today’s forecast calls for a 95% chance of assploding hypocrisy.
(WSJ) — First Lady Michelle Obama leaves Thursday for a three-day, four-state tour to mark the second anniversary of her “Let’s Move!” initiative to get Americans to eat healthier and be more physically fit.
The trip is a mix of events and announcements, including one Thursday about a program intended to combat weight gain among members of the military.
Mrs. Obama will make the announcement, along with the Department of Defense, at the Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., which has participated in a pilot program for the initiative. The initiative melds Mrs. Obama’s two signature policy goals as first lady – combating obesity and caring for military families. The Obama administration has cast childhood obesity as “a national security issue.”
Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs, has said that 25% of those who want to join the military are too overweight to make it through the initial process and that weight gain is increasingly a problem among active-duty service members. The Defense Department also estimates it spends $1.1 billion a year on medical care for weight-related problems.
“The Department of Defense considers obesity not only a national problem but a national security issue,” Mr. Woodson told reporters in advance of Mrs. Obama’s trip.
The initiative Mrs. Obama and Mr. Woodson will announce Thursday will change the menus at the 1,100 dining halls on military bases and make adjustments to vending machines, snack bars and other places where service members and their families buy food, according to a press release.