WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense will unveil new plans to address unhealthy eating habits among active duty troops when First Lady Michelle Obama visits Little Rock Air Force Base this week.
The Arkansas visit is set for 2:15 p.m. Thursday.
Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, said Tuesday that the Pentagon would launch a campaign to encourage healthier eating habits at the base in Jacksonville, Ark.
They plan to update decades-old menu standards in favor of healthier options and will change the way food is distributed to encourage healthier choices, he said.
“We are very excited about launching this campaign which will be a priority of the Department of Defense over the next several years,” Woodson said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Pentagon considers obesity a “national security issue,” said Woodson.
He noted that a quarter of military recruits are too overweight to enter the military. Weight gain has become more acute a problem in recent years among active duty troops.
The percentage of overweight soldiers more than doubled in the last decade from 2 percent in the mid-1990s to 5 percent a decade later, he said.
“It is becoming a more significant problem for us. That is one of the reasons we need to address this issue,” Woodson said.
The Arkansas air base is part of a pilot program aimed at enhancing the quality, variety and availability of food at military bases.
Those efforts will be highlighted by the first lady on the second stop of a three-day tour celebrating the second anniversary of her “Let’s Move!” initiative targeting childhood obesity.
She has also scheduled events in Iowa, Texas and Florida. Sam Kass, Senior Policy Advisory for Healthy Food Initiatives and Assistant White House Chef, said Tuesday that the whirlwind tour is aimed at highlighting “all the great work” that communities are doing to promote healthy eating.
“The effort has been inspirational,” he said.
Michelle Obama’s most recent appearance in Arkansas was as commencement speaker at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in May 2010. President Barack Obama has not visited Arkansas since being elected president in 2008. He attended a rally for Democratic candidates in Little Rock in October 2006.