[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 511 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 511

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 8, 2017

    Ms. Fudge (for herself, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Kind, and Mr. Reichert) 
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 childhood obesity has more than quadrupled in children and tripled in 
        adolescents in the past 40 years;
Whereas 17 percent or 12,550,000 children and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years are 
        obese;
Whereas childhood obesity is more prevalent among children from low-income 
        families; for example, 14.5 percent of preschool children living below 
        the poverty threshold are obese;
Whereas significant disparities exist among the obesity rates of children based 
        on race; for example, on average 38.5 percent of Hispanic/Latino 
        children and 35.2 percent of African-American children ages 6 to 11 are 
        overweight or obese, compared with 28.5 percent of Non-Hispanic White 
        children, and American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents are 50 percent 
        more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be overweight;
Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity pose a financial threat 
        to our economy and healthcare system, carrying up to $14,000,000,000 per 
        year in direct healthcare cost, with people in the United States 
        spending about 10 percent of their total medical costs on obesity-
        related illnesses;
Whereas obese children ages 10 to 13 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 lifespan 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 for the first time in two 
        centuries, the current generation of children in the United States may 
        have shorter life expectancies than their parents;
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, websites, 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: 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.
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