Childhood obesity is one of the biggest health problems among today’s youth, and this spring a new campaign will intensify efforts to help kids begin life with a healthy diet.

Over the last thirty years, the rate of childhood obesity tripled, and almost one out of three kids are now either obese or overweight, First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign reports.

To help lower the rate, the American Academy of Pediatrics is hoping the classic children’s book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” coupled with growth charts and handouts, will encourage parents to create healthy diets for their children. This spring the doctors’ group is teaming up with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and “Hungry Caterpillar” author Eric Carle in a campaign to broaden the dialogue about healthy eating far beyond the ten-minute doctor appointment.

President Clinton, who seems to be everywhere since he left the White House, is also part of the effort.

“Parents and doctors both play an enormously important role in ensuring children develop healthy eating habits early on in life. By joining with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the classic children’s brand The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we are starting a dialogue between parents and doctors that will go beyond the waiting room and into the home, enabling 21 million children to make more nutritious choices and lead healthier lives," President Clinton said in a statement.  (The William J. Clinton Foundation is involved with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.)

What’s the biggest question in early learning? We cover a lot of the challenges in early education, but this week, Early Ed Watch asks the central question: “If you had to pick the hardest nuts to crack in early education policy, what would they be?”

Go over to the New America Foundation blog to vote and check out the results.