[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S852-S853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
        Franken, and Mr. Udall of New Mexico):
  S. 2119. A bill to establish a pilot program to address overweight/
obesity among children from birth to age 5 in child care settings and 
to encourage parental engagement; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, today I am introducing the 
Healthy Kids from Day One Act--a bill that will add another tool to our 
toolbox for tackling the national epidemic of childhood obesity. Today, 
about one in three children is either overweight or obese, and nearly 
21 percent of our littlest ones--those in preschool--are obese or 
overweight. This problem has become an epidemic, and I want to thank 
Senators Coons, Carper, Franken, and Tom Udall for joining me in 
introducing this important legislation.
  The Healthy Kids from Day One Act seeks to focus on the childcare 
setting as a part of our strategy to combat childhood obesity and get 
kids healthy and moving again. This bill recognizes that in order to 
reduce the prevalence

[[Page S853]]

of childhood obesity, we must reach children in as many settings as 
possible and particularly in the places where they live, learn, and 
play. With 75 percent of U.S. children aged 3 to 5 years in childcare 
and 56 percent in centers, including nursery schools, preschools, and 
full-day centers, it makes sense to focus on the preschool and 
childcare environment. Experts are increasingly acknowledging this 
setting as critical to obesity prevention. For example, this past 
October the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a research 
synthesis on how childcare settings can promote healthy eating and 
physical activity. Furthermore, an article in the January 2012 issue of 
Pediatrics examined barriers to children's physical activity in 
childcare.
  Childcare providers want to create healthy environments for children 
but vary in the expertise or resources needed to achieve this goal. 
This legislation builds on a bill I introduced with Senator Franken in 
2010 by supporting the establishment of childcare collaborative 
workshops at the local level to offer childcare providers the tools, 
training, and assistance they need to encourage healthy eating and 
physical activity. This bill supplements some of the work being done 
right now by the First Lady in her Let's Move Child Care initiative, as 
it would bring together, in interactive collaborative learning 
sessions, relevant entities needed for meaningful childhood-obesity 
prevention.
  Obesity has serious health and economic consequences. It puts our 
children at greater risk of costly but preventable chronic illnesses, 
such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Obesity also comes at a 
tremendous cost to our society. The total economic cost is estimated at 
$300 billion annually, and, as the Nation's youth continues to age, 
further costs will be added to the national health care system if these 
trends continue. Obesity also has impacted our ability to recruit 
healthy, young servicemembers into the military and maintain a strong 
national defense.
  My childhood and much of my adult life has been spent in the great 
outdoors, and I have tried to bring my enthusiasm for being active and 
exploring the world around us here to the U.S. Congress as a cochair of 
the Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus. I firmly believe that we need to 
reconnect folks with the idea that being active is fun and rewarding, 
and it can help us lower health care costs and improve the quality of 
life here in America.
  I would like to thank Nemours, Trust for America's Health, the YMCA 
of the USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart 
Association for working with me to develop this legislation. This bill 
builds upon their expertise with obesity prevention.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in the fight against childhood 
obesity by supporting this bill.
                                 ______