First Lady Needs More Oomph

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."

Michelle Obama talks to GMA in advance of launching initiative

(NEWSER) - Michelle Obama wants to eliminate childhood obesity in just one generation, and she will launch her ambitious "Let's Move" campaign today at noon. "We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan," the first lady tells Good Morning America . Obama's initiative focuses on four areas: educating parents, improving food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable, and focusing on physical education. More»

She teases Barack about his gray hair, but gets serious about obesity

(NEWSER) - She may be one of Forbes' most powerful women, People's most beautiful people, Time's most influential people, and even Maxim's hottest women, but Michelle Obama insists she's not that interesting. "I still see myself as Michelle Obama, the girl who grew up in the south side of Chicago," the first lady says in this morning's Today Show interview. "What people have seen over the course of the year is really Michelle." More»

First lady's approval rating soars over her husband's

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s approval ratings are sinking, but Michelle Obama’s remain sky-high, with 71% of the country holding a favorable opinion of her. Only 16% of respondents in a new Pew Research survey held a negative view of the first lady. That puts her well above Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, who had 60% and 64% favorability ratings, respectively, after their husbands had been in office for 1 year. More»

But the über-fit first lady just can't do double dutch

(AP) - The president isn't the only Obama with impressive hoops prowess: Michelle managed 142 swivels of a hula hoop yesterday during a "healthy kids fair" on the White House lawn. Jumping rope double dutch? Not so much. The first lady also gave a pep talk about eating right to about 100 children and parents from local elementary schools. Obama said it's OK to eat fun stuff sometimes as long as you usually eat right. More»