[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 339 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 339

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 7, 2011

 Ms. Fudge (for herself, Ms. Granger, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Reyes, Mr. 
 Serrano, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Polis, Mr. Braley of 
 Iowa, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Jackson 
  of Illinois, Ms. Moore, Mr. Moran, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sewell, and Mr. 
 Rangel) 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 during the past four decades, obesity rates have soared among all age 
        groups, increasing more than fourfold 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 on average 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;
Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity pose a 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 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 important 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 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 September would be an appropriate month to designate 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 encourage 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.
                                 <all>