[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E26-E27]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFELONG IMPROVEMENTS IN FOOD AND EXERCISE ACT 
                                 (LIFE)

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 13, 2010

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, as we come close to the enactment 
of historic health care legislation, I introduce the Lifelong 
Improvements in Food and Exercise Act (LIFE), authorizing a national 
initiative to attack a major health problem in the United States that 
cannot be remedied through the health care system alone. Growing 
problems of overweight and obesity are now found in Americans of every 
age, race, and major demographic group, and threaten the health of 
Americans like no other single disease or condition does. In fact, the 
key to eliminating many of the most serious health conditions is 
reducing overweight and obesity. The LIFE bill would provide $25 
million in funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) for a coordinated effort to reverse increasingly sedentary 
lifestyles and diets that are high in fat and sugar. Despite rising 
consciousness of this epidemic, from NBC's ``The Biggest Loser'' to a 
steady stream of diet books, startling rates of obesity among adults 
and children continue in the United States. In 2007, estimates from the 
CDC National Center for Health Statistics showed that the percentage of 
children who are overweight has more than doubled, and among 
adolescents, the rates have tripled since 1980. Today, 13 million 
overweight children have an 80 percent chance of being overweight 
adults, with the health conditions that follow, such as high blood 
pressure, heart disease, and cancer. The 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 for kids will follow them throughout their lives. If we 
are serious about health care, we must start where the most serious 
health conditions begin: in the epidemic of overweight and obesity.
  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 healthy 
lifestyles, such as proper nutrition and regular exercise; conduct 
education campaigns to teach the public about how to recognize and 
address overweight and obesity; and develop intervention strategies to 
be

[[Page E27]]

used in everyday life at worksites and in 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 annually. According to the Surgeon General's 
Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, the cost 
of obesity in the United States was more than $117 billion in 2000. 
Currently, an estimated 300,000 deaths per year are related to obesity.
  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. 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 doubling the percentage of overweight 
youth.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important 
legislation to mobilize the country now, before entirely preventable 
health conditions, that often begin in children, overwhelm the nation's 
health care system.

                          ____________________