[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 132 (Friday, September 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         LIFELONG IMPROVEMENTS IN FOOD AND EXERCISE ACT (LIFE)

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 7, 2007

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the Lifelong 
Improvements in Food and Exercise Act (LIFE), a national initiative to 
attack growing problems of overweight and obesity now found in 
Americans of every age, race, and major demographic group. The LIFE 
bill would provide $15 million in funding to the Centers for Disease 
Control (CDC) for a major effort to reverse increasingly sedentary 
lifestyles and diets that are high in fat and sugar.
  I introduce the bill today because of the startling and steadily 
increasing rates of obesity among adults and children in the United 
States. Currently, 64.5 percent of adults, aged 20 years and older, are 
overweight and 32.2 percent of adults (over 66 million) are obese. 
According to the National Women's Health Information Center, 50 percent 
of women aged 20 to 74 are overweight or obese. Young people are no 
better off--the percentage of children who are overweight has more than 
doubled, and among adolescents the rates have tripled since 1980 
increasing from 5 percent to 17.1 percent. The Centers for Disease 
Control (CDC) reports that Type 2 diabetes, considered an adult 
disease, is now widespread in children. The health care system is 
already paying the price, and the consequences to kids will follow them 
throughout their lives. These kids, ages 10 to 15, have a 80 percent 
chance of being overweight adults, with the health conditions that 
follow, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer.
  The LIFE bill directs the CDC to pursue obesity and sedentary 
lifestyles in three ways: train health professionals to recognize the 
signs of obesity early and educate people concerning healthful 
alternatives, such as proper nutrition and regular exercise; conduct 
public education campaigns to teach the public about how to recognize 
and address overweight and obesity; and develop intervention strategies 
to be used in everyday life in worksites and community settings. This 
important legislation is the minimum necessary to address this major 
health care crisis. Already, chronic diseases, many of which are caused 
or exacerbated by overweight or obesity, account for 70 percent of all 
deaths in the U.S., which is 1.7 million each year and 60 percent of 
U.S. medical care expenses yearly. According to the Surgeon General's 
Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, the cost 
of obesity in the United States in 2000 was more than $117 billion.
  A focused national health initiative is necessary because unhealthy 
lifestyles have become a normal part of everyday life. Participation in 
high school physical education classes has dropped from 42 percent in 
1991 to 33 percent in 2005, accounting at least for part of the reason 
that one-third of young people in grades 9-12 do not regularly engage 
in physical activities. National data show an increase in unhealthy 
eating habits for adults and no change in physical activity. Changes in 
nutrition are equally critical because 60 percent of young people 
consume too much fat, a factor in the doubling in the percentage of 
overweight youth.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in support of this important 
legislation to mobilize the country now before entirely preventable 
health conditions that begin in children overwhelm the nation's health 
care system.

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