First Lady Marks Four Years of Fitness Campaign
BLITZER: A big day for the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama marking the fourth anniversary of her signature "Let's Move" campaign. The first lady has been teaming up with celebrities to help promote her cause, including the actress Amy Poehler. She just met with her a little while ago. Here's some video we just got.</s>AMY POEHLER, ACTRESS: This is so fun. Mrs. Obama is standing next to me like she's my audience and I'm just telling her jokes. This is like a dream. Except for the -- except for the box, which is a little embarrassing, isn't it? And I have to stand on that.</s>MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: It's pretty high.</s>POEHLER: I'm a grown woman standing on a box.</s>BLITZER: There's the box. And the sneakers. Let's bring in our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns. He's very tall. He doesn't have to stand on any boxes. Tell us what's going on.</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It depends. Well, Wolf, the good news today is that the latest study says obesity in children between the ages of 2 and 5 decreased dramatically over a 10-year period but so far no real change in the overall population. And this report comes at a time when the first lady has programmed to improve the fitness levels and eating habits is celebrating its fourth anniversary.</s>JOHNS (voice-over): Americans' eating habits have apparently changed a lot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep up with the first lady.</s>JOHNS: Since the first lady launched her "Let's Move" campaign four years ago to get people to eat better and exercise more.</s>OBAMA: Water just surpassed soda as the most commonly consumed beverage in America. Yay for water. Drink up.</s>JOHNS: And for the most part, she's kept the campaign fun and lighthearted, even with the help of big Hollywood stars, like this focus group video with comedian Will Ferrell.</s>OBAMA: Can you tell us some of your favorite fruits and vegetables?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Strawberries.</s>OBAMA: Strawberries.</s>WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: Let me guess. Cabbage?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.</s>FERRELL: Also, is diet cola, is that a vegetable?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.</s>FERRELL: What's so funny?</s>JOHNS: Let's Move is on a roll or so it seems. There's even some evidence childhood obesity is dropping, though Centers for Disease Control aren't ready to say it is because of Mrs. Obama's program.</s>DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: We're not certain what has driven the increase in child obesity. And we're far from out of the woods. We do know that there have been a number of things going in the right direction. There is increased attention to improving childhood nutrition, increasing breast feeding rates. Child care are doing physical activity.</s>JOHNS: All good perhaps but Let's Move still has its critics like today when the administration announced proposed rules to stop marketing products in schools that the government says are not good for you.</s>OBAMA: We will be eliminating advertisements for unhealthy food and beverages in our school.</s>JOHNS: Which could mean a change to the iconic soft drinks sponsored school sports score boards that pop up almost everywhere. Where full calorie drinks aren't allowed administration says they should not be advertised to kids at school either.</s>TOM VILSACK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: If you can't sell it you really ought not to be able to market it.</s>JOHNS: Which only renews the complaints of nanny state politics critics who say government needs to back off when it comes to what we eat and drink.</s>DARIN BAKST, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I think it's just so much arrogance involved. It's no longer father knows best or mother knows best, it's what government knows best. And that's really the problem here.</s>JOHNS: In answer to the nanny state question the administration says it distinguishes between adults and children and that the Let's Move program defers to local controls of local officials but the government does have an obligation to try to ensure that the foods and drinks served in schools are healthy.</s>BLITZER: Healthy is important. All right, thanks very much, Joe, for that. Coming up the battle lines are drawn in Venezuela. It's a very dangerous conflict. We're going to take you right to the barricades. And a SITUATION ROOM special report as we begin to hear from the possible 2016 presidential contenders. I'll go one-on-one with Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. That's coming up right at the top of the hour.