Although Pokemon Go has only been out a short time, it feels like it's everywhere. Everywhere you look someone is playing on the street, in Starbucks, on the metro, or at work. People are willing to walk miles upon miles just for the chance of catching a rare Pokemon. All of a sudden, people are emerging from under their rocks and entering the world for the sole purpose of catching Pokemon. The news has been portraying all of the craziness and hype that has surrounded the game and that all seems to be negative. Yet, these past two and a half weeks have probably been the most active that Americans have been in years. A twitter meme said it best, "Pokemon Go has done more to combat childhood obesity in two weeks than Michelle Obama has done in 8 years." Pokemon Go has jump started physical fitness in America and it's a beautiful, yet scary thing.

For the first time in a long time, people are willingly walking. I work three doors away from the closest Metro stop. Only three lines run through that stop so people that need the other lines get on at this stop and go one stop and change trains. You can walk to the transfer point that has five lines run through it in under ten minutes. Yet, people were paying the extra money each way just to avoid that. Now, everyone is walking out of work, turning on Pokemon Go, and walking the three and a half blocks to the next station because there are quite a few Pokemon on the way. These are adult, Government employees doing this not teenagers. People are going on walks that last a half hour, hour, two hours, all the while playing Pokemon Go. One of my friends went on a walk for two hours around the city to catch Pokemon. He told me the story of one of his friends who has started running again because it's faster than walking to get the Pokemon. And neither of these stories are uncommon.

So, how is Pokemon Go doing something in a few short weeks that our First Lady hasn't been able to achieve in her eight years? Pokemon is something that people grew up with and enjoyed. Instead of cutting lunches in half and forcing everyone to get vegetables, Pokemon Go is allowing users to work their time on the game into their schedules. Allowing people to play on their commutes and during their free time, instead of imposing a schedule upon them makes people more likely to do it and actually enjoy it. Just think about the impact this game could have on health and physical activity levels in three months, six months, etc. It seems like Pokemon Go is here to stay and keep people active, at least for now.