Michelle Obama vs. Sarah Palin on the battle of the bulge

In a split with Alaska governor-turned-Tea-Partier Sarah Palin, some conservatives including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have recently come out in support of First Lady Michelle Obama's efforts to curb childhood obesity, according to this Washington Post story.

Obama has been launched a campaign called Let's Move. It encourages kids to excerize and eat right. She and a host of health officials and agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have sounded alarms about the rising obesity rate among children, who are now starting to develop diseases once limited mainly to adults, such as diabetes and heart disease.

As part of the effort, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are working with food makers to produce consumer-friendly labels and pediatritians are being encouraged to keep an eye on body fat. Schools are getting money to serve healtheir food.

But Sarah Palin, who has a well-known fitness background, says this is making the country a "Nanny State," where the government tells people what to eat. Palin has specifically said that Obama is telling people not to have dessert instead of leaving it to individuals to decide what they can consume. A bunch of talk radio hosts and other conservatives agree.

So, do we heed the call of Obama and tell our kids to exercise and eat right, or listen to Palin and decide for ourselves if we should tell our kids to exercise and eat right?

Source: The Baltimore Sun Health News