First Lady Gets Physical With DC Students

Michelle Obama knows how to strike a pose — a yoga pose, that is. The First Lady exercised with local D.C. students Wednesday afternoon. The event marked Obama's launch of her recast President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. The council, formerly the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, will now include an emphasis on healthy eating habits. One in three Americans is overweight or obese, Obama said. "We're spending billions of dollars on treating obesity-related conditions and we can't afford to keep going down this road," she said. Obama said Congress needed to set stricter nutrition and exercise requirements for public school students. ‘I urge Congress to provide the resources we're going to need to support these important programs,’ Obama said. ‘This is an important time.’ Yoga was only one of the fitness stations that was set up at the event, which was staged inside the Bell Multicultural High School gym in Columbia Heights in northwest Washington. Obama also jump-roped, juggled with scarves and helped assemble trail mix snacks with the students, along with star athletes including gymnast Dominique Dawes, figure skater Michelle Kwan and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards — all council members. It's not just about calorie-counting, Obama said. She stressed the importance of striking a balance between exercise and nutrition.”

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