Major League Baseball Players Want to Make Your Kids Healthier

Professional athletes aren't always the best role models (I'm looking at you, Tiger Woods. OK, and you, Ben Roethlisberger. And Kobe Bryant). But recently, major league baseball (MLB) players are scoring big in the positive influence department. They're working with Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, a comprehensive plan to solve America's childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.

The Let's Move campaign involves folks from government, science, medicine, business, and education. Even chefs recently joined the cause through the "Chefs Move to Schools" initiative. MLB players are the latest group to partner with the First Lady in an effort to get kids to eat healthier and become more physically active.

Curtis Granderson, centerfielder for the Yankees, serves as the spokesman for the national ad campaign, while one player from each of the MLB's 30 teams will appear in local TV and radio spots. According to the New York Times, each ad starts out with a video of Michelle Obama saying "There are so many fun things we can all do to be healthier, no matter who you are or where you are. So let's move." The ads then show the various teams' players stretching, crossing home plate, and doing other sporty activities.

I've been following the Let's Move campaign for awhile now, and this partnership seems especially worthwhile. I'm not saying that because I'm a huge sports fan (truth be told, I didn't know who Curtis Granderson was before reading this NYT article). But I'm especially hopeful about this particular initiative because it addresses one of my main concerns with the Let's Move campaign: That this major push to solve childhood obesity wouldn't be accessible to children. Sure, it's necessary to get government, medical professionals, and business leaders on board with a plan like this. But kids don't care about government or businesses, and they sure as heck don't like doctors. Forgetting to focus on what's important to kids themselves would be a huge oversight in any strategy to solve childhood obesity.

That's a communication gap that pro athletes can help bridge. Think about how many kids hit the basketball courts because they want to "Be like Mike." Or how often you see children and teens walk around sporting their favorite players' jerseys. Or the number of kids that line up before and after baseball games to get autographed balls. Children don't just look up to players — in many cases, they want to be them. If almighty, god-like pro athletes tout the benefits of eating fresh fruits and veggies and exercising, you can bet kids will want to mimic that behavior. It's basically taking the same strategy fast food and snack producers use to entice kids and using it for good.

Let's Move is also working with the NFL and the WNBA to bring healthy eating and fitness messages to children. Now if only all pro athletes would act as role model-ish off the court as they do on the Let's Move TV ads...

Photo credit: Marianne O'Leary via Flickr