Michelle Obama’s Advice on Childhood Obesity & Body Image

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and recently First Lady Michelle Obama spoke with AOL.com about nutrition, exercise, and her own family’s experience with adopting a healthy lifestyle.

She makes a lot of interesting points in the interview, and, most notably, touches on how parents can encourage their children to maintain a healthy weight while maintaining a healthy body image: “Being healthy isn’t about inches, pounds, or how kids look – it’s about how they feel and making sure they feel good about themselves”. She goes on to explain that “rather than focusing on appearance, it’s important to emphasize to kids that when we eat healthy food and stay active, we feel better”. In the interview, she also stresses the importance of helping children find a physical activity that they enjoy doing, as well as involving children in the preparation of healthy meals.

Read the full interview here!