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Washington, DC – Encouraging families to cook together and teaching basic culinary skills will be “a key focus of the Let’s Move! campaign over the next year,”
First Lady Michelle Obama announced on Friday during her keynote address at the annual child obesity summit hosted by Partnership for a Healthier America.

In the months ahead, the fifth year of Let’s Move!, she will unveil new initiatives dedicated to getting families into kitchens, Mrs. Obama told the huge crowd gathered in the dramatically lit ballroom of the Washington Hilton.

Arguing that giving Americans fundamental kitchen skills is the best way to ensure that nutritious foods are getting onto dinner plates, with fewer calories, better ingredients and controlled portion size, Mrs. Obama said home cooking “can fundamentally change the way families take control of their own health”–without any kind of legislated government intervention.

“Research clearly shows that home cooking is one of the single most impactful ways for families to improve their health,” Mrs. Obama said.

“The benefits of cooking couldn’t be more clear.”

Though she has previously spoken about culinary issues, it was the first time Mrs. Obama has devoted the bulk of a major speech to discussing the importance of home cooking as she linked America’s broad lack of culinary skills to obesity.