Alpharetta Officials, Church Members Agree with Obama

Michelle Obama's speech to prevent and reduce childhood obesity got a warm reception in Alpharetta today, with city officials, church members and medical school employees agreeing with her message.

Jane Strickland, who works in Alpharetta and attends , said at least 4,000 people attended the event, filling the main auditorium and nearly filling a second auditorium. Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves and Sandra Deal, Gov. Nathan Deal, were among the other people attending.

"Everybody was just really excited to see her, and hear what she had to say," said Strickland, a resident of Waleska in Cherokee County.

She heard about Mrs. Obama's visit when Andy Stanley, the church's senior pastor, mentioned it in church service on Sunday. She was able to reserve a ticket on its Web site.

The first lady spoke for about 20 minutes on how parents can get started in the Let's Move program.

Strickland said she felt the program is relevant to adults.

"If it affects children, it affects all of us," she said.

Mayor Arthur Letchas agreed that the message was a good one.

"She made some good points. I think she was right on task," the mayor said. "I thought it was good regarding childhood obesity and the things that can happen in later generations," Letchas said.

Letchas, who has a background in education including teaching physical education, said Mrs. Obama told the crowd requirements have dropped.

"And so there's not a whole lot of activity going on in the school unless you participate in sports after school," Letchas said.

Physical education was taken out of the curriculum to get all the other courses added within time limits.

"People maybe ought to take a second look at the curriculum to get more hours in," he said.

Alpharetta City Councilman Chris Owens was more familiar with the White House vegetable garden. He said her message was "spot on what we need to be doing as a country and a community."

One of her comments that stuck in his mind was that it's more expensive these days to eat healthy than eating cheap, processed foods.

"And that's a shame. That's something that she's really taking people to task on, and I hope it sticks," Owens said.

He said Alpharetta is fortunate to have the recreation programs and opportunities for its children.

"I think we coud do a lot more with the options of what our kids have to eat in school, and giving the kids and their families more options to stay active and stay healthy," Owens said.

Jareese Stroud, who works at Morehouse School of Medicine, said she saw the child-parent engagement as what is pushing the movement for healthier eating and an end to childhood obesity.

Mrs. Obama said children are benefitting from the program by being involved, such as asking parents instead of cooking fried fish, why don't the do baked, the Stone Mountain resident said.

Starla Blanks' favorite part of the speech was how Mrs. Obama has helped educate the Washington, D.C., children who helped plant the White House garden.

"She was talking about children being interested in fresh fruits and vegetables like Kale. Most children never had kale, didn't now what it was," said Blanks, a Marietta resident and Stroud's coworker at Morehouse.

Getting children more used to eating fruits and vegetables will have a favorable affect on obesity rates.

Parents felt powerless to make changes, but after one year of Let's Move, they've helped focus producers to put lower salt and fat content in foods they sell and that schools serve.

"From our work that's something that we definitely see. Get parents just to show up for school, just to ask questions, makes the school focus on those issues," Blanks said.