First lady Michelle Obama’s new campaign — Let’s Move — is a commendable effort to combat childhood obesity. Too many American kids eat too many sweets, get too little exercise and spend far too much time gazing at the boob tube. There are many legitimate worries about Washington bureaucrats acting as food police, but the basic aim of this program is one that deserves support. Obama vows to “mobilize public and private sector resources. Let’s Move will engage every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and will provide schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy.”

To grasp the seriousness of this issue, consider these facts from the White House Web site’s description of Let’s Move: