Tune in this Friday, February 19 to The Dr. Oz Show when Dr. Oz goes undercover in a grocery store and tells you what five things that should never land in your grocery cart.

As Dr. Oz made his way through grocery store aisles and poked around shoppers’ grocery carts, he pointed out these five foods that might be taking years off of your life and adding inches to your waistline. 

In what is shaping up to be this generation’s version of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign to fight the war on drugs, today Michelle Obama launches her much anticipated initiative to fight the war on childhood obesity. The program is simply called “Let’s Move,” an actionable name that speaks volumes about the goals of the first lady and the organization. It is the first lady’s goal to wipe-out childhood obesity in a generation, a necessity to preserve the health and wellness of our youngest Americans. A startling stat shared by Michelle is that this is the first generation that will not live as long as their parents.

Frightening.

During a launch interview with USA Today, the first lady made it clear why using Let’s Move as a catalyst to stop childhood obesity was vitally important.

“The statistics are clear and they are shocking, and I have cited them again and again: One in three kids in our nation today are (overweight or) obese, and that figure increases for African-American and Hispanic children,” she said.

Michelle Obama has had a tremendous impact on American families with her push for living healthy and goal of eliminating childhood obesity in her role as first lady. She announced recently that her new initiative aimed at targeting childhood obesity is under way, and adds that her feelings on the program crystallized when she was faced with a less than favorable report from her daughters’, Sasha and Malia, pediatrician.

“We went to our pediatrician all the time,” Obama said, via ABC News. “I thought my kids were perfect — they are and always will be — but [the doctor] warned that he was concerned that something was getting off balance.”

Mrs. Obama says that she was too close to really see the changes in her girls and when the doctor suggested that Mrs. Obama look at her daughters’ BMI numbers, she made small diet changes. Those small changes that she made in their daily habits helped to pull the numbers back into balance.

Instead of being applauded for her efforts, Mrs. Obama has been the subject of controversy for her use of the word “diet.” Reports have said that by using her daughters as an example, she may have harmed their self-esteem. Some critics have said that she should have focused more on lifestyle change, instead of weight loss.

Americans should be thrilled that Jamie Oliver has skipped the pond, but not everyone seems to be. After using one of his television series to reshape the school lunch program in the United Kingdom, the celebrity chef is coming stateside to help change what has been deemed the unhealthiest city in America, according to governmental surveys, in a new series on ABC called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” Huntington, West Virginia (population 50,000) has an adult obesity rate of 50% and leads the nation in incidences of diabetes and heart disease.

Image via NY Daily News

Michelle Obama’s commitment to improving the health of American families is a cause that she takes very seriously. This past Wednesday, January 20, 2010, the first lady spoke at the U.S. Conference of Mayors about her plans to launch a new federal initiative designed to reduce childhood obesity and improve the health of all American children.