First lady Michelle Obama says her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity isn't about telling people what they must or must not eat.

"This has never been about the government telling people what to do," Mrs. Obama told USA TODAY's Mimi Hall in an interview today. "If that worked, it would have worked a long time ago."

In an interview at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., where she was highlighting a military program to improve the way new recruits eat, Obama responded to critics, including former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. On her reality show, Palin prepared s'mores that she said were "in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert."

"The Army understands you can't take all choices away from people," Mrs. Obama says. "You have educate them so that they have the information to make good choices for themselves."

Let's Move, she says, is "about parents getting the information they need to do what they think is best for their kids."

As for dessert, she's all for it. "You can't live in a world without delicious naughty foods. It's no fun."

Look for Mimi's story on Mrs. Obama in Friday's USA TODAY.