Michelle Obama plays ball in Baltimore

[Stinky The Clown]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/07/first-lady-partners-with-mlb-to-fight-childhood-obesity/1

Jul 20, 2010
First Lady Michelle Obama partners with baseball to fight childhood obesity

BALTIMORE -- First Lady Michelle Obama launched the baseball part of her Let's Move campaign today at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

She has teamed up with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Association to fight childhood obesity on four levels. The first three: asking companies to provide healthier foods, asking schools to offer healthier lunches, and helping families get healthy, affordable food in all communities.

The fourth aspect of Obama's campaign is Let's Move, an effort to get children active for at least 60 minutes a day. Speaking in front of a group of children from local organizations and baseball teams, Obama used the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays players in attendance as examples of healthy activity.

"That's what led athletes to be the great players that they are today, because they never stop moving," Obama said. "That's what you guys need to do, and that's why we're here. We've got to get you kids focused and moving."

Obama then helped lead baseball drills on the grass with the kids following her brief speech. She was assisted by Adam Jones, Josh Bell, Nick Markakis, Jeremy Guthrie and Corey Patterson from the Orioles along with David Price, Sean Rodriguez, James Shields and Reid Brignac from the Rays.

Obama played catch, threw grounders to children and ran around for about a half hour.

MLB's part of the Let's Move campaign will also 30 include public service announcements that will run on MLB.com, MLB Network and on big screens in ballparks. Each PSA features one MLB player and Obama discussing the importance of physical activity.


Rays pitcher David Price, left, talks with first lady Michelle Obama before the start of a baseball clinic with area youths and members of the Orioles and Rays teams.

[JuniperLea]

1. This is awesome!

Good on Michelle!

I love baseball.

[monmouth]

2. What an awe inspiring woman Michelle is. I have no recollection of

any other First Lady (maybe Eleanor)who took this role to such a high level. Good on her and those teams participating.

[cloudbase]

3. It was the only ball played

in Baltimore this season.

[Bitwit1234]

4. This is really something that should be done BUT

It seems like the healthier the food the more expensive. Pasta and potatoes and bread the most fattening of foods are the cheapest. Now with all the families on unemployment and no money at all it sure is too expensive to buy fruits and raw vegetables. For example in Minnesota on the Iron Range apples sometimes run 20 to 40 cents each. Fruits even at Walmart are expensive. And green leafy vegetables are out of sight. Back on the coast they used to have kale or collards in a bin and you could get them for a dollar pound. her you get about 4 stalks and it is 1.49 cents. How do you expect a family to feed their kids healthily foods. I think there should be some way food could be made affordable. And then kids would put on weight. Eating junk food does but now a days there aren't too many families that can afford all that stuff.