WASHINGTON - A year ago today, First Lady Michelle Obama launched her campaign against childhood obesity with "Let€™s Move!." But the Washington Examiner asks if the promotion has made a difference.

"I wondered to myself whether we could really make a difference, because when you take on a problem this big and this complicated, at times it can be a little overwhelming," said Obama in a recent speech.

Anti-obesity advocates lauded the First Lady€™s involvement in the issue and the increased awareness she has brought to childhood obesity. "She has been a spark plug," said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association.

In 12 months, Obama has talked to school groups, food manufacturers, mayors, governors and others, asking for healthier school lunches and better-for-you foods, and for more places that encourage activity, such as playgrounds and bike paths. Some successes include promises of change from food and beverage manufacturers, including Walmart, to reduce salt, fat and sugar levels in products.

However, for change to be lasting it will take a long time and some wonder if it will actually occur. "I€™ve been through so many of these enormous announcements by food companies about how they're going to profoundly change the way they€™re doing business and they don€™t," said Marion Nestle, nutrition professor at New York University.

Obama believes her message is getting through. "We are seeing a fundamental shift in our national conversation about how we make and sell food," she said recently. "That€™s something that wasn't happening just a year ago."

For more information about nutrition, check out the February 2011 cover story of NACS Magazine.