Michelle Obama Inspires Hip Hop CD for Healthy Kids

Michelle Obama (Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)

First Lady Michelle Obama’s "Let's Move" Campaign has inspired Partnership for a Healthier America and the Hip Hop Public Health Foundation to produce the album, “Songs for a Healthier America,” The Album features hip-hop vets including Ashanti, DMC and Arti Green with 19 songs encouraging young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

The album’s tracks include titles like  “We Like Vegetables,” “U R What You Eat” and “Veggie Luv.”  The first single, “Everybody,” featuring Jordin Sparks, Doug E. Fresh and Dr. Oz, has already been released. As promised, the first lady does make an appearance. She briefly talks about the campaign’s beginnings and why the program has been successful. Find out the facts.

Michelle Obama launched the Lets Move! campaign in 2010.  As she noted on her website, "In the end, as first lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition."

FLOTUS's new partners share her passion.  “Music is so universal, it’s so powerful, that as an educator I’m always amazed of why it’s not being used more ubiquitously within public health,” Dr. Olajide Williams, founder of Hip Hop Public Health and associate professor of clinical neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, told MSNBC.

Music, he added, has greater representation in the brain than language. It not only enhances memory, but also creates an emotional connection with the themes being delivered.

Everyone can hear the entire album on Sept. 30 via free download on the Partnership for a Healthier America’s website. All this to promote Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign.

The White House Celebrates Kids' Health

Encouraging young people to live well and eat healthy has been a focal point for First Lady Michelle Obama.  First she created the “Let’s Move!” campaign and the White House garden, and now she has hosted the first Kids’ State Dinner.

The lunch honored the 54 children who had won the "Healthy Lunchtime Challenge."  They were chosen from more than 1,200 entrants for creating a nutritious recipe of their own creation or a family favorite. The contest, sponsored by Epicurious.com, was open to kids 8 to 12 and included winners from every state. Contestants who vied for the opportunity to participate at the first Kids State Dinner were chosen by a panel of judges from Epicurious, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “At tables lush with floral bouquets festooned with fruits and vegetables, guests enjoyed a four-course meal served on china originally used during the Reagan administration and a performance by boy band Big Time Rush. The menu, drawn from winning entries, included "yummy cabbage sloppy Joes" and a side of baked zucchini fries. The meal was paired with a performance by the Nickelodeon TV stars/music group Big Time Rush.” A highlight of the event was a visit from President Obama and a tour of the White House garden.

With dishes to entice young appetites like Fish Fueled Pepper Rocket with Kale Chips and Quinoa, and Yummy Cabbage Sloppy Joes, a cookbook might be on the way.