[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 996 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 996

 Expressing support for designation of September as National Childhood 
                        Obesity Awareness Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2009

    Ms. Fudge (for herself, Ms. Granger, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. 
  Blumenauer, Mrs. Bono Mack, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Castle, Ms. Castor of 
 Florida, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Conyers, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Al Green of 
 Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hare, Ms. Norton, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kind, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Massa, Mrs. McCarthy 
of New York, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Payne, 
  Mr. Platts, Ms. Richardson, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. 
    Schiff, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Sires, and Mr. Alexander) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for designation of September as National Childhood 
                        Obesity Awareness Month.

Whereas society in the United States has become ``obesogenic'', characterized by 
        environments that promote increased food intake, ``nonhealthful'' foods, 
        and physical inactivity;
Whereas during the past four decades, obesity rates have soared among all age 
        groups, increasing more than four-fold among children ages 6 to 11;
Whereas 31.8 percent or 23,000,000 children and teenagers ages 2 to 19 are obese 
        or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider an 
        epidemic;
Whereas significant disparities exist among the obesity rates of children based 
        on race and poverty, for example 38 percent of Mexican-American children 
        and 34.9 percent of African-American children ages 2 to 19 are 
        overweight or obese, compared with 30.7 percent of White children and 
        39.5 percent of low-income American Indian and Alaska Native children 
        ages 2 to 5 are overweight or obese;
Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity pose a tremendous 
        financial threat to our economy and health care system, carrying up to 
        $14,000,000,000 per year in direct health care cost, with people in the 
        United States spending about 9 percent of their total medical costs on 
        obesity-related illnesses;
Whereas obese young people have an 80 percent chance of being obese adults and 
        are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or 
        obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health 
        problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, 
        several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis;
Whereas in part due to the childhood obesity epidemic, 1 in 3 children (and 
        nearly 1 in 2 minority children) born in the year 2000 will develop type 
        2 diabetes at some point in their lifetime if current trends continue;
Whereas some consequences of childhood and adolescent obesity are psychosocial 
        and obese children and adolescents are targets of early and systematic 
        social discrimination, leading to low self-esteem which, in turn, can 
        hinder academic and social functioning and persist into adulthood;
Whereas participating in physical activity is important for children and teens 
        as it may have beneficial effects not only on body weight, but also on 
        blood pressure and bone strength;
Whereas proper nutrition is important for children before birth and through 
        their life-span as nutrition has beneficial effects for health and body 
        weight, and is key in the prevention of various chronic diseases;
Whereas childhood obesity is preventable yet does not appear to be declining;
Whereas public, community-based, and private sector organizations and 
        individuals throughout the United States, including First Lady Michelle 
        Obama, are working to decrease childhood obesity rates for people in the 
        United States of all races through a range of efforts, including 
        educational presentations, media campaigns, websites, policies, 
        healthier food options, and greater opportunities for physical activity;
Whereas Members of Congress have championed legislation to reduce and bring 
        awareness to the issue of childhood obesity; and
Whereas the American College of Sports Medicine, American Diabetes Association, 
        American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, American 
        Medical Group Association, American Sleep Apnea Association, American 
        Society of Bariatric Physicians, American Society for Metabolic and 
        Bariatric Surgery, American Society for Nutrition, Amerinet, BET 
        Foundation, Black Women's Health Imperative, Campaign to End Obesity, 
        Canyon Ranch Institute, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 
        Children's Health Fund, Children's National Medical Center, Children 
        Now, COSHAR Foundation, First Focus, HealthCorps, International Health, 
        Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, Medical Fitness Association, 
        National Association of Children's Hospitals, National Association of 
        Chronic Disease Directors, National Association of School Nurses, 
        National Association for Sport and Physical Education, National Family 
        Caregivers Association, National Football League (NFL), National 
        Football League (NFL) Players Association, National Indian Health Board, 
        National Latina Health Network, National League of Cities, National 
        Medical Association, Obesity Action Coalition, Partnership for 
        Prevention, Richard Simmons' Ask America PE Crusade, ShapeUp America!, 
        STOP Obesity Alliance, The Obesity Society, Trust for America's Health, 
        United Way, U.S. Preventive Medicine, Inc., Voices for America's 
        Children, YMCA of the USA, and YWCA USA support the designation of 
        September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month to educate the 
        public about the need for increased education and proactive steps to 
        prevent childhood obesity in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of National Childhood Obesity 
        Awareness Month to raise public awareness and mobilize the 
        country to address childhood obesity;
            (2) recognizes the importance of preventing childhood 
        obesity and decreasing its prevalence in the United States; and
            (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
        calling on the Federal Government, States, Tribes and tribal 
        organizations, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, 
        businesses, other entities, and the people of the United States 
        to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities 
        with the goal of promoting healthy eating and physical activity 
        and increasing awareness of childhood obesity among individuals 
        of all ages and walks of life.
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