[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 380 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 380

 Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the relationship 
 between eating disorders in adolescents and young adults and certain 
                 practices of the advertising industry.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2000

 Mr. Hinchey submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the relationship 
 between eating disorders in adolescents and young adults and certain 
                 practices of the advertising industry.

Whereas, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and 
        Associated Disorders (``ANAD''), 7,000,000 women and girls and 1,000,000 
        men and boys suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, 
        bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well as eating disorders 
        that are not otherwise defined;
Whereas eating disorders impact all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender 
        groups;
Whereas eating disorders may lead to death;
Whereas, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in 10 people 
        with anorexia nervosa will die of starvation, cardiac arrest, or other 
        medical complications;
Whereas, in a 1999 study of nine high schools in nine States, ANAD found that 12 
        percent of high school students suffer from either anorexia nervosa or 
        bulimia;
Whereas the same study revealed that 86 percent of individuals who report an 
        eating disorder report the onset of illness by the age of 20;
Whereas the physical appearance of models used by the advertising industry 
        influences the attitudes of many adolescents and young adults, including 
        with respect to self-image; and
Whereas such advertising models frequently portray physiques that cannot or 
        should not be achieved by many adolescents and young adults, and their 
        attempts to emulate the physiques portrayed by the models can lead them 
        to engage in unhealthy eating habits: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that the advertising industry 
should, in using models in advertisements likely to be viewed by 
adolescents or young adults, take into account--
            (1) the influence that these advertising models have on the 
        self-images of adolescents and young adults;
            (2) that such models frequently portray physiques that 
        cannot or should not be achieved by many adolescents and young 
        adults; and
            (3) the importance of taking action to reduce the extent to 
        which such models influence adolescents and young adults to 
        engage in unhealthy eating habits, whether the reduction is 
        achieved by using models who more closely approximate average, 
        healthy individuals, by providing for public service 
        announcements to counteract negative health influences, or by 
        taking other appropriate action.
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