1.This Act may be cited as the
Lifelong Improvements in Food and
Exercise Act
or the LIFE Act
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2.The Congress finds as follows:
(1)Currently, 64.5
percent of adults, age 20 years and older, are either overweight or obese and
35.7 million (more than one-third of the adult population) are obese.
(2)Among adults who were 20 to 74 years of
age, the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.0 percent in 1976 through 1980
to 32.9 percent in 2003 through 2004.
(3)During 2003 through 2004, of children and
adolescents who were 2 to 19 years of age, more than 12,500,000 (or 17.1
percent) were overweight.
(4)Since 1980, the
percentage of children who are obese has more than doubled and the percentage
of adolescents who are obese has more than tripled.
(5)More than
one-third of adults do not get enough physical activity and adults have
increased their caloric consumption.
(6)The rising rates
of obesity portend greater disease and health conditions, including
hypertension, high total cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease,
stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems,
and some cancers, such as endometrial, breast, and colon.
(7)Many underlying
factors have been linked to the increase in obesity, such as increased portion
sizes; eating out more often; increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks;
increased television, computer, and electronic gaming time; changed labor
markets; and fear of crime, which prevents outdoor exercise.
(8)Chronic diseases
account for 70 percent of all deaths each year. Although chronic diseases are
among the most common and costly health problems, they are also among the most
preventable. Adopting a healthy lifestyle, such as eating nutritious foods and
engaging in physical activity, can prevent or control the devastating effects
of these diseases.
(9)In 2008, overall medical costs related to
obesity for adults were estimated to be as high as $147 billion. People who
were obese had medical costs that were on average $1,429 greater than such
costs for people of normal body weight.
3.Reduction in
prevalence of obesity; program for lifelong improvements in food and
exercisePart B of title III
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 317T the following new section:
317U.Reduction in
prevalence of obesity
(a)The Secretary, acting
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall
carry out a national program to conduct and support activities regarding
individuals who are overweight or obese in order to make progress toward the
goal of significantly reducing the number of cases of overweight and obesity
among individuals in the United States.
(b)In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall
(directly or through grants or contracts) carry out the following with respect
to individuals who are overweight:
(1)Activities to
train health professionals to recognize that patients are overweight and to
recommend prevention activities regarding such condition, including educating
patients on the relationship between such condition and cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and other health conditions, and on proper nutrition and regular
physical activities.
(2)Activities to
educate the public with respect to the condition of being overweight, including
the development of a strategy for a public awareness campaign.
(3)The development
and demonstration of intervention strategies for use at worksites and in
community settings such as hospitals and community health centers.
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2013, and
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2014 through
2016.
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