First lady Michelle Obama’s work for her Let’s Move! campaign, which aims to counter childhood obesity, is proving to be effective among American children.
Yale University economist Dean Karlan conducted an unofficial experiment on Halloween night, finding that 38 percent of trick-or-treaters older than eight chose fruit instead of candy after seeing a picture of the first lady. Comparatively, after showing a picture of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s wife Ann Romney, trick-or-treaters were only 19 percent more likely to choose fruit. Karlan concludes that children nine and older have retained information provided by the first lady’s campaign and as a result have unconsciously connected Obama’s face and the Let’s Move! initiative.