First ladies have a tough job – they are dragged into exhausting campaigns whether they like it or not, must learn to live in the spotlight along with their family, and are required to pull it off with seemingly easy style, grace, and charm. They are called to be supportive of their husbands no matter what, an exemplary mother, great at small talk, have a flair for hostessing, and a penchant for making skirt suits look attractive. Some women can do it, and do it well, while others wilt in the fierce glare of media attention. With their husbands’ names about to be on the top of America’s voting ballots come November, we want to know: do Ann Romney and Michelle Obama have what it takes to stomach (another) four years in the White House?

With four years behind her, Mrs. Obama already has a track record to show for how she balances family, work, and social obligations. Her main platform as FLOTUS has been to reduce childhood obesity through her Let’s Move! initiative.

Mrs. Obama’s family are the first ones to benefit from her activism as she keeps them healthy and fit. She stresses nutritious eating to her daughters, not so that they will be thin but so that they will have energy for sports activities. Her favorite unhealthy food is french fries and she says she tries to curb her husband’s unwholesome snacking as much as she can. Mrs. Obama has said that she doesn’t count calories but simply focuses on how she feels, and how she feels about herself. She has also planted a garden on the White House lawn so that the family can eat homegrown, organic fruits and vegetables.
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On Ellen’s September 17 episode, Ellen discussed her partnership with the company Food Should Taste Good to take a stand for the fight against breast cancer. She is raising money for Ellen For The Cure, which will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

To raise money, Food Should Taste Good rolled out a special pink bag of multigrain chips that will donate a part of the profits to the foundation. Ellen let her audience taste the chips by passing a bag around (“she only has one bag”), touting their delicious taste and their vegan and gluten-free status. You can also donate directly to the foundation on her website.
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For those in their 20s and 30s, consider this a wake up call: Research now suggests that baby boomers may not live longer than their parents, as a collection of studies surrounding those born between 1946 and 1964 suggests their health is on the decline.

S. Jay Olshansky, a public health professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been studying the longevity of baby boomers under a MacArthur Foundation Grant. And based on his findings thus far, he predicts noticeable drops in this generation’s lifespan.

“If you look at the health status of the baby boom versus the generation that just preceded them, they are in worse shape,” Olshanksy told Reuters in a recent interview. He added that health experts are seeing greater frailty, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and declining cognitive function among this generation.

With improvements in healthcare, innovative drugs, and increasing life expectancies among most age groups, it’s been an assumption that baby boomers would easily outlive their parents’ generation. However, because of factors like obesity and cancer, their lifespans may be cut short.
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It’s common knowledge that exercise is good for your health and new studies are emerging every day that further validate this. One new study recently published in the journal Cancer examined more than 3,000 women, some with breast cancer and some not. Of the 3,000 women studied, those that exercised throughout their childbearing years were less likely to have breast cancer after menopause. Women who started exercising after menopause saw the same results of lower instances of breast cancer.

The lead researcher on this project was Lauren McCullough of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. When speaking about the results, she stated, “What we can say is exercise is good for you. It’s never too late to start. Our evidence suggests that if you start after menopause you can still help yourself.”

This study revealed that women who exercised between 10 and 19 hours per week during the years between having their first child and entering menopause reduced their likeliness of breast cancer by one third over those who didn’t exercise during that time. Those women that exercised nine to 17 hours per week and started after going through menopause were also 30 percent less likely to have breast cancer than those who were sedentary. Things like education, smoking and income were also accounted for in the study.
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These days the Miss USA pageant is about more than just evening gowns, swimsuits and world peace; it’s about advocacy for both global and local organizations that are on a mission to educate, inform and even save lives.

This year, The Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions – co-sponsored by Donald Trump and NBC Universal -  are committed to raising awareness for breast and ovarian cancers by working with organizations such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Gilda’s Club – both of which are focused on research and education in these areas.

Hosting the Miss USA competition are Bravo’s Executive Vice President of Development and Talent Andy Cohen, and E! News anchor and managing editor Giuliana Rancic, who is a breast cancer survivor herself.

In a recent press event promoting the pageant, Rancic opened up to Diets In Review about her recovery from breast cancer, and how she approached health in the days and months after her treatment was completed.
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