3 students speak to First Lady about obesity

WESTON, Fla. (WSVN) -- Three South Florida students have been given the opportunity to ask the First Lady questions about her childhood obesity campaign, Let's Move.

Falcon Cove Middle School students Lauren Shatanof, Rachel Shatanof and Taylor Duarte were summoned to the principal's office Wednesday to speak to First Lady Michelle Obama.

"Can you have junk food everyday? No, you just can't," said Obama during a meeting in Washington.

The First Lady spoke to the trio from the White House, where she held a town hall meeting with an audience of other students about her Let's Move anti-childhood obesity campaign. "You don't have the ability to walk. You're in your parents car or you're on a bus, and then you get to school, and there's no physical education programs," said Obama.

The eighth graders won the chance to speak with Mrs. Obama after their documentary took fourth place in C-SPAN's StudentCam film competition. "We have to consider obesity as America's greatest challenge," said Taylor Duarte in the documentary.

Their topic was spot on with the message the First Lady wants the entire nation to hear. "We knew that what we had was really good, and we were getting good footage and really good interviews and information," said Duarte.

This is what the girls asked the First Lady: "With limited resources to address childhood obesity, what measures would you take to ensure that this problem is prioritized?" said Lauren Shatanof.

"This initiative is the biggest way, I think, that I can help," answered Obama.

Shatanof was thrilled to be able to speak with the First Lady. "It was very exciting. It was a great experience to be able to ask a question about childhood obesity," said Shatanof.

"I was confident in our video. I thought that it was great, but I didn't expect that this experience would happen," said Rachel Shatanof.

After such a big experience, the young filmmakers' teachers and families now have even greater expectations for their futures. "If they are talking to the president's wife in eighth grade, I can't wait to see what they are doing when they are seniors, probably addressing the UN," said teacher Jamie Edwards.

The First Lady said her Let's Move initiative is about promoting an active lifestyle and not focusing on appearances. She's encouraging children to think about the choices they make in their own lives and to take responsibility for their own futures.

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