WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) — First lady Michelle Obama asked U.S. mayors Wednesday not to cut the fat from their budgets but to help children
overcome obesity.

Obama spoke about childhood obesity during the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington. Obama last week said the issue would be one of her key initiatives as she begins her second year as the first lady.

“Right now, nearly one third of children in America are overweight or obese — one in three,” Obama said. “And one third of all children today will eventually suffer from diabetes (and) in the African American and Latino communities, it goes up to almost half.”

She called obesity “one of the biggest threats to the American economy.”

Obama told the mayors she will initiate a major initiative on childhood obesity that takes advantage of combined resources of federal, state and local governments, and the business and non-profit sectors.