[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 100 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1261-E1262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING NATIONAL DANCE DAY ON 
                        SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 7, 2011

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce a resolution designating 
the last Saturday in July as National Dance Day to combat obesity and 
overweight through dance of all kinds. This year, each community 
throughout the country is encouraged to celebrate National Dance Day on 
Saturday, July 30. In the nation's capital, National Dance Day will be 
celebrated at the Sylvan Theatre on the National Mall.
  Our country has a notorious adult and child overweight and obesity 
epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the 
past 30 years. In the United States, almost one-third of children and 
teenagers ages 2 to 19 and 68 percent of adults ages 20 and older are 
obese or overweight. We can promote physical activity among children 
and adults while having fun dancing, an exercise that most enjoy.
  On the National Mall, ``So You Think You Can Dance'' producer and 
celebrity judge Nigel Lythgoe, the Dizzy Feet Foundation, and the Larry 
King Cardiac Foundation will host a variety of dance groups that will 
perform the dances that keep them fit. A Flash Mob will also have 
everybody dancing for fun and physical fitness on July 30.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the resolution and to encourage 
dancing for physical exercise on National Dance Day and throughout the 
year.

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