III 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 412 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 9 (legislative day, February 8), 2010 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Warner) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary March 26 (legislative day, March 25), 2010 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating September 2010 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

Whereas during the past 4 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; 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, Web sites, policies, healthier food options, and greater opportunities for physical activity; and Whereas Members of Congress have championed legislation to reduce and bring awareness to the issue of childhood obesity: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)designates September 2010 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in order 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.