Michelle Obama Takes Anti-Obesity Drive to Food Makers

First lady Michelle Obama will test the limits of her bully pulpit Tuesday when she tells the Grocery Manufacturers Association about voluntary moves the food industry can make to reduce childhood obesity.

This comes as Mrs. Obama graces the cover of Newsweek, with the headline "Feed Your Children Well" over a photo of her with an apple on a table. Inside the magazine, she writes about the epidemic of childhood obesity in America, all tied to her "Let's Move" campaign, launched on Feb. 9 with a goal of solving this problem in a generation.

The essay is a shorter version of the first lady's obesity stump speech promoting healthy eating, exercise, getting more nutritious food into school cafeterias and areas underserved by supermarkets, while emphasizing that the problem can't be fixed "with a bill in Congress or an executive order from the president."

What's interesting - from the standpoint of public relations rather than food policy - is that the East Wing seems to have worked out an arrangement with Newsweek. On Wednesday, Mrs. Obama will participate in the magazine's forum at the Newseum titled "Challenges and Ways to Promote Health and Wellness in America's Communities." The White House said the "Let's Move" campaign will be on the agenda when she sits for a question-and-answer session with Newsweek's editor, Jon Meacham.

Meeting With Food Makers

Last week, speaking at a national PTA conference, Mrs. Obama said she was going to meet with the food manufacturers "to ask them to do their part to improve the quality of the food that they provide to us so that we have healthier options to choose from."

What she did not mention - she never does - is that she was once a part of the food industry. From June 27, 2005, to May 22, 2007, Mrs. Obama was on the board of TreeHouse Foods, based in suburban Chicago (more on that below). The Grocery Manufacturers Association lobbies on behalf of food, beverage and consumer products companies, and the organization has issued statements in support of "Let's Move."

But a debate may be looming over the issues of labeling, the science behind claims made to consumers about certain food products and junk food taxes. Will Mrs. Obama wade into any of these controversies? I don't think we will have a feel for that until May, when the Obama White House is expected to complete a plan the president ordered when he signed an executive order last month on childhood obesity.

While Mrs. Obama is highlighting childhood obesity now as her central cause, the federal government has been concerned about overweight Americans for years. The food industry, in the meantime, has tried to get ahead of Congress and regulators.

The grocery association said in a statement that its members in recent years "have changed the recipes of more than 10,000 of our products to reduce calories, fats, sugars and sodium without sacrificing the taste, convenience and affordability that consumers demand. We look forward to continuing our work with Congress and the Obama administration to help reduce obesity – especially childhood obesity."