[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 88 (Monday, June 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E921-E922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 9, 2014

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to reintroduce the Lifelong 
Improvements in Food and Exercise (LIFE) Act, authorizing a national 
initiative to attack a major health problem in the United States that 
cannot be remedied through the health care system alone. Increasing 
rates 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. In fact, the key 
to eliminating many of the most serious health conditions is to reduce 
overweight and obesity. The bill would provide $25 million to the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a coordinated 
national effort to reverse increasingly sedentary lifestyles and diets 
that are high in fat and sugar.
  Despite rising consciousness of this epidemic, from television shows 
like ``The Biggest Loser'' and ``Extreme Weight Loss'' to a steady 
stream of diet books, the United States has startling rates of obesity 
among adults and children. In 2010, the CDC National Center for Health 
Statistics indicated that, since 1980, the percentage of children who 
are overweight has more than doubled, and the percentage of adolescents 
has tripled. Today, the 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 rising costs of the health care system, 
including insurance premiums, reflect the epidemic. The consequences 
for children will follow them throughout their lives if we do not act 
quickly and decisively. If we are serious about controlling health care 
costs, we must start where the most serious health conditions begin: 
overweight and obesity.
  The bill seeks to provide the first national strategy to combat the 
epidemic by directing the CDC to: train health professionals to 
recognize the signs of obesity early and to educate people concerning 
healthy lifestyles, such as proper nutrition and regular exercise; 
conduct public education campaigns about how to recognize and address 
overweight and obesity; and develop intervention strategies to be used 
in everyday life, such as in the workplace and in community settings. 
The legislation is the minimum necessary to address our most important 
health crisis. Today, chronic diseases, many of which are caused or 
exacerbated by overweight and obesity, account for 70 percent of all 
deaths in the U.S. and 60 percent of U.S. health care costs. According 
to the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease 
Overweight and Obesity, the cost of obesity in the U.S. was more than 
$117 billion in 2000. The CDC has highlighted a study that estimates 
the annual cost to be $147 billion. It is estimated that between 
300,000 and 400,000 deaths per year are related to obesity.

[[Page E922]]

  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 dropped from 42 percent in 1991 
to 33 percent in 2005. Changes in nutrition are equally critical 
because 60 percent of young people consume too much fat, a factor in 
the doubling of the percentage of overweight youth. Data show an 
increase in unhealthy eating habits for adults and no change in 
physical activity.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important 
legislation to mobilize the country now, before entirely preventable 
health conditions, which often begin in childhood, overwhelm the 
Nation's health care system.

                          ____________________