Michelle Writing Book on White House Garden

Dowd to prez: Stop pretending you like junk food and eat healthy

(NEWSER) - He might take his veep out for a burger once in a while, but Barack Obama is a health nut—so much so, notes Maureen Dowd, that when he and Michelle had dinner in New York "he managed the impossible feat of nibbling only one French fry." For the New York Times columnist, the president is mistaken to keep plumping for fried food and red meat when the cameras are rolling. It does nothing, she says, to convince Americans of his "regular guydom." More»

They may even grow hops in White House garden

(NEWSER) - The Obamas turned heads in the beer world when word broke that they’d served something called White House Honey Ale at their White House Super Bowl party. It turns out that ale was indeed brewed by White House chefs, using homebrewing equipment the Obamas bought out of their own pockets and honey from the White House beehive, the Obama Foodorama blog reports. And there’s more to come. More»

It teams with Michelle Obama, who declares 'victory for our children'

(NEWSER) - Wal-Mart is embarking on a plan that could have a big impact on American nutrition: It will modify its house brand to make the food healthier, and lower costs for items such as fruits and veggies, and products made with whole grain. The initiative is the result of collaboration with Michelle Obama, reports the New York Times . "It's a victory for parents. It's a victory for families, but most of all, it's a victory for our children," she said at today's announcement, notes ABC News . More»

New book spills about why the French first couple is late so often

(NEWSER) - Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy once kept a head of state waiting for a meeting, but they had a good excuse—they were having sex. The revelation about the French president and his ex-supermodel wife gets juicier, ABC News reports: It involves the Obamas. No, not like that! Bruni-Sarkozy "wanted to know if, like the Sarkozys, Michelle and the President had ever kept anyone waiting that way," Jonathan Alter of Newsweek writes in his new book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One. More»

Michelle Obama's project exaggerates the issue, for starters

(NEWSER) - Kate Harding loves 90% of Michelle Obama's childhood obesity initiative—but she has a real problem with the 10% that is "whipping up fear and disgust of the very fat children you're supposedly trying to help." Her objections, in Salon :

• Exaggeration: Childhood obesity is painted in the most frightening possible way. ("Our children may live shorter lives than their parents.") The truth is, childhood obesity levels are no longer rising—so enough with the "fear-mongering."