Get healthy. Cut out fat, sugar, salt Michelle Obama is urging the nation's largest food companies to speed up efforts to make healthier foods and reduce marketing of unhealthy foods to children.

The first lady has talked to schools and nutrition groups across the country in her effort to reduce childhood obesity. This is the first time she has confronted the food companies that make the snacks and junk food that stuff grocery aisles and school vending machines.

Mrs. Obama's campaign is largely focused on school lunches and vending machines, along with making healthy food more available and encouraging children to exercise more.

"We need you not to just tweak around the edges but entirely rethink the products you are offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children," she said.

"While decreasing fat is certainly a good thing, replacing it with sugar and salt isn't," she urged. "This needs to be a serious industrywide commitment to providing the healthier foods parents are looking for at prices they can afford."

Former President Bill Clinton, who in 2005 partnered with the American Heart Association for a similar campaign against childhood obesity, said he was thrilled that Mrs. Obama had joined the cause.

"She'll get visibility for it that I can't get. She's a lot younger than I am. She'll relate better to a lot of the kids in the schools. They'll relate better to her. I think it's a really great thing for her to do this," Clinton said, answering questions at a childhood obesity forum sponsored by Newsweek magazine. Mrs. Obama was scheduled to participate in the forum on Wednesday.

Last week, Clinton announced that an effort aimed at replacing full-calorie soft drinks with reduced-calorie, smaller-portion beverages had reduced the number of beverage calories shipped to schools by 88 percent between 2004 and 2009.

- Posted on March 18, 2010