#ThanksMichelleObama Tweets: Kids Post Gross School Lunch Photos, Thank The First Lady

Kids across the nation are thanking First Lady Michelle Obama for their school lunches -- well, not exactly. Hundreds are tweeting unappetizing photos of their school’s “healthy” meals, accompanied by the sarcastic hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama. Others are tweeting photos of trash cans piled high with those lunches and students choosing to leave the cafeteria with empty stomachs.

Shortly after moving into the White House, the First Lady launched her Let’s Move! initiative that aims to solve the nation’s childhood obesity problem by raising a healthier generation of kids. Later that year, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law, with Michelle at his side. The legislation funds and strengthens policies of child nutrition programs that educate kids on healthy choices and improve the quality and nutrition of school meals. But it looks like the kids aren’t buying it -- literally.

Schools play a key role in the dietary and physical activity behavior of children and adolescents. Studies show a student’s health is linked to his or her academic success -- both physical activity and healthy eating can help render success in the classroom. Today, obesity in the United States has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the last 30 years. In 2012, more than one third of American children and adolescents were overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.