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Michelle Obama admits weakness for junk food

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Michelle Obama - Celebrity News - Marie Claire Rex Features

First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off her ‘Let's Move' drive yesterday - an agenda of nutrition and exercise programs designed to eliminate, ‘the epidemic of childhood obesity.'

‘This isn't like a disease where we're still waiting for the cure to be discovered,' Mrs. Obama said. ‘We know the cure for this. This isn't like putting a man on the moon or inventing the Internet. It doesn't take some stroke of genius of feat of technology. We have everything we need right now to help our kids lead healthy lives.'

Mrs. Obama made her remarks at a White House event launching the anti-obesity campaign, one with roots in her wildly popular White House kitchen garden planted last year.

She is looking to eliminate unhealthy food in schools and ‘food deserts' in urban areas where parents cannot get access to fresh produce and non-junk foods.

But she revealed she was no food purist and was not immune to the temptations of junk food saying: ‘I love burgers and fries. And I love ice cream and cake. And so do most kids.'

She added that while working in Chicago, struggling to balance meetings and deadlines for her children's soccer and ballet, there were nights when ‘we just went to the drive-thru because it was quick and cheap, or went with one of the less healthy microwave options, because it was easy. And one day, my paediatrician pulled me aside and told me, 'You might want to think about doing things a little bit differently'.'

One in three American children is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses. Billions of dollars are spent every year treating obesity-related conditions.

The ambitious campaign, which Mrs Obama hopes will be seen as her legacy, is aimed at solving the childhood obesity problem in a generation, so that children born today can reach adulthood at a healthy weight. ‘None of us wants this future for our kids,' Mrs Obama said at the White House.‘We have to act, so let's move.'

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