Personalizing the role of first lady is one of the most important parts of the job, Michelle Obama said Friday.
“In the words of Sasha Obama, I’d say ‘do you,’” she said on the “Today” show. “I would just urge the next person coming into this role to make it your own, because it’s believable when it comes from the deepest part of who you are. This is a powerful platform to make a lot of change.”
Traditionally, first ladies have chosen a cause to tackle while in the White House. Obama said key to success for the next first lady — or first gentleman — is choosing a topic they care about. Laura Bush focused on education, Hillary Clinton focused on health care and Obama has centered her efforts on childhood obesity.
Obama launched her Let’s Move! campaign on Feb. 9, 2010, about a year after her husband was inaugurated for his first term. The initiative has two prongs: healthy eating and physical activity. Child obesity has increasingly become a topic of concern over the last few decades: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the percentage of obese children has doubled over the past 30 years, and quadrupled among adolescents.