110 HRES 1244 IH: Resolving to address the costly obesity U.S. House of Representatives 2008-06-05 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1244 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 5, 2008 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Kind, and Mr. Porter) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Resolving to address the costly obesity epidemic by identifying opportunities to increase access to and promotion of nutrition, physical activity, and health care in all of Congress’s work.

Whereas the percentage of United States adults classified as having obesity doubled between 1980 and 2000, from 15 percent to 31 percent; Whereas according to projections, 3 out of 4 American adults could suffer from being overweight or obese by 2008; Whereas over the past 20 years, the proportion of overweight children ages 6 through 11 has more than doubled and the rate for adolescents ages 12 through 19 has tripled; Whereas according to the most recent Department of Health and Human Services data, the total cost of obesity in the United States is over $117,000,000,000 each year; Whereas a 2008 report by the Conference Board concluded that obesity is costing United States companies as much as $45,000,000,000 a year in medical expenditures and work loss; Whereas people with obesity have higher health care utilization rates of 36 percent higher inpatient and outpatient spending, 77 percent higher medication spending, 45 percent more inpatient days, 48 percent more expenditures over $5,000, and 11 percent higher annual health care cost; Whereas people with obesity are at increased risk for many of the most costly and debilitating chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, gastro-esophageal reflux disease, respiratory problems, stroke, endometrial, breast, prostate cancer, colon cancers, poor female reproductive health, depression, and many others; Whereas the obesity epidemic is a complex problem with no one villain or solution and will require a wide range of policy, environmental, cultural, and personal changes to reverse; and Whereas the majority of the Federal Government’s work, from agriculture to education to transportation to labor to healthcare to tax policy, has implications on America’s nutrition, physical activity, health literacy, and health delivery system: Now, therefore, be it

That the United States House of Representatives— (1)recognizes the urgency and complexity of the obesity epidemic; (2)commends the Campaign to End Obesity and its advising organizations for their identification of actionable steps that Congress can take toward reversing the epidemic; and (3)commits to considering opportunities for addressing the obesity epidemic such as improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, and expanding access to care in all major legislative action.