The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
2010 Winter Olympian Noelle Pikus-Pace discusses visiting the White House and her participation in Let’s Move!, the First Lady’s initiative to end childhood obesity within a generation.
As an Olympic athlete I had the opportunity to visit the White House yesterday and meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as Vice President Biden and his wife Jill Biden. I was impressed by the gratitude that they shared with us for representing our country in the Olympic Winter Games as well as the architecture and the history within the White House. What an amazing experience.
I chose to participate in the First Lady's Let's Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity from the moment that I heard about it. As an athlete, moving around and staying fit is critical to my performance. Just as importantly, as a mom, I move around and stay active not only for myself, but also to be an example to my daughter Lacee. It is so important for her to move around now, at 2 years of age, in order to form healthy, lifelong habits that will help to prevent childhood obesity in her life. Along with moving around, as an athlete, mom, and individual, it is very important to make healthy food choices. The choices that I make may impact Lacee's life for better or worse.
Everyday as an athlete I wake up and decide to either make good healthy decisions that will lead me toward my goals or I can choose to make poor decisions that will lead me away from my goals. Athletes are not the only ones faced with these health-wise decisions. Everyone of us has a choice to make everyday. We need to make good choices not only for ourselves, but to be examples of healthy living for kids as well so that they we can teach them the importance of moving around and eating healthy foods.
Noelle Pikus-Pace is a 2010 Winter Olympian, Skeleton
