II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1325 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 28, 2005 Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Collins, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Lugar, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Stevens) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish grants to provide health services for improved nutrition, increased physical activity, obesity and eating disorder prevention, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act or the IMPACT Act.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1)In July 2004, the Secretary of Health and Human Service recognized obesity is a critical public health problem in our country and under the medicare program language was removed from the coverage manual stating that obesity is not an illness. (2)The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2002 found that an estimated 65 percent of adults are overweight and 31 percent of adults are obese and 16 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese. (3)The Institute of Medicine reported in Preventing Childhood Obesity (2004) that approximately 60 percent of obese children between 5 and 10 years of age have at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 25 percent have two or more such risk factors. (4)The Institute of Medicine reports that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing among all age groups. There is twice the number of overweight children between 2 and 5 years of age and adolescents between 12 and 19 years of age, and 3 times the number of children between 6 and 11 years of age as there were 30 years ago. (5)According to the 2004 Institute of Medicine report, obesity-associated annual hospital costs for children and youth more than tripled over 2 decades, rising from $35,000,000 in the period 1979 through 1981 to $127,000,000 in the period 1997 through 1999. (6)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports have estimated that as many as 365,000 deaths a year are associated with being overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk for heart disease (the leading cause of death), cancer (the second leading cause of death), diabetes (the 6th leading cause of death), and musculoskeletal disorders. (7)According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, individuals who are obese have a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of premature death. (8)The Healthy People 2010 goals identify overweight and obesity as one of the Nation's leading health problems and include objectives for increasing the proportion of adults who are at a healthy weight, reducing the proportion of adults who are obese, and reducing the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese. (9)Another goal of Healthy People 2010 is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. Obesity is a health problem that disproportionally impacts medically underserved populations. (10)The 2005 Surgeon General's report The Year of the Healthy Child lists the treatment and prevention of obesity as a national priority. (11)The Institute of Medicine report Preventing Childhood Obesity (2004) finds that childhood obesity is a serious nationwide health problem requiring urgent attention and a population-based prevention approach…. (12)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the annual expenditures related to overweight and obesity in adults in the United States to be $264,000,000,000 (exceeding the cost of tobacco-related illnesses) and appears to be rising dramatically. This cost can potentially escalate markedly as obesity rates continue to rise and the medical complications of obesity are emerging at even younger ages. Therefore, the total disease burden will most likely increase, as well as the attendant health-related costs. (13)Weight control programs should promote a healthy lifestyle including regular physical activity and healthy eating, as consistently discussed and identified in a variety of public and private consensus documents, including the 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report A Call To Action and other documents prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies. (14)The Institute of Medicine reports that poor eating habits are a risk factor for the development of eating disorders and obesity. In 2002, more than 35,000,000 Americans experienced limited access to nutritious food on a regular basis. The availability of high-calorie, low nutrient foods have increased in low-income neighborhoods due to many factors. (15)Effective interventions for promoting healthy eating behaviors should promote healthy lifestyle and not inadvertently promote unhealthy weight management techniques. (16)The National Institutes of Health reports that eating disorders are commonly associated with substantial psychological problems, including depression, substance abuse, and suicide. (17)The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders estimates there are 8,000,000 Americans experience eating disorders. Eating disorders of all types are more common in women than men. (18)The health risks of Binge Eating Disorder are those associated with obesity and include heart disease, gall bladder disease, and diabetes. (19)According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by frequent episodes of uncontrolled overeating, with an estimated 2 to 5 percent of Americans experiencing this disorder in a 6-month period. (20)Additionally, the National Institute of Mental Health reports that Anorexia Nervosa, an eating disorder from which 0.5 to 3.7 percent of American women will suffer in their lifetime, is associated with serious health consequences including heart failure, kidney failure, osteoporosis, and death. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric disorders, placing a young woman with Anorexia Nervosa at 12 times the risk of death of other women her age. (21)In 2001, the National Institute of Mental Health reported that 1.1 to 4.2 percent of American women will suffer from Bulimia Nervosa in their lifetime. Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is associated with cardiac, gastrointestinal, and dental problems, including irregular heartbeats, gastric ruptures, peptic ulcers, and tooth decay. (22)On the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 6 percent of high school students reported recent use of laxatives or vomiting to control their weight.