By: Kimberly Reed, International Food Information Council Foundation Executive Director   Date: May 4, 2010

Since their debut in February, both President Obama's White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity and First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative have been effective efforts to raise national awareness and to get Americans more focused on healthful eating and important food and exercise choices.

At the International Food Information Council Foundation, we and our stakeholders are anxiously awaiting the recommendations of the Task Force's 90-day Report to the President to be released next week (the week of May 10, 2010).

These recommendations may no doubt serve our nation well, but even beyond the report, we believe that the Task Force and the "Let's Move" initiative can also serve as an important template for other nations as they discuss nutrition, health, and food safety issues.

Of course, we are fortunate that the United States is a wealthy country with the resources that many developing nations don't have to devote to disease prevention. In these growing nations, it will take leadership and forethought to find time in their national dialogue for these issues, but, in the long term, early attention will reap great rewards in terms of healthier, more productive populations.

I raised this point recently at a global forum at the United Nations on the topic: "Are Non-Communicable Diseases a Development Issue." The discussion was moderated by Jeff Kluger, Senior Editor, Health, Science and Technology at TIME Magazine. Also involved were officials from United Nations Permanent Missions, NGOs, and the private sector, all focused on the challenges in preventing non-communicable diseases in the developing world such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

Sir George Alleyne, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and Director Emeritus Pan American Health Organization, agreed with me that Michelle Obama's use of her national stage to talk about healthful eating and exercise could serve as an excellent model for First Ladies and other leaders to communicate similar--but country-specific--messages in nations around the world. 

The International Food Information Council Foundation is dedicated to helping solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. The Foundation knows first-hand that a key step as part of this effort is to effectively communicate messages that, as stated in the Presidential Memorandum creating the White House Task Force, empower "parents and caregivers with the information and tools they need to make good choices for themselves and their families. "  Why not also use this communications model on an international scale?