[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 116 (Thursday, July 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1117-E1118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 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

                        Thursday, July 23, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, as we approach July 25, and the 6th 
annual National Dance Day, 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

[[Page E1118]]

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 not only to reduce overweight and 
obesity but also to encourage exercise of all kinds. On National Dance 
Day across the nation, Americans will be dancing, one of the most 
enjoyable and popular forms of exercise.
  This 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.
  We see rising consciousness of the need to get moving, from the First 
Lady's ``Let's Move'' campaign for children and the television shows 
``So You Think You Can Dance,'' ``The Biggest Loser,'' and ``Extreme 
Weight Loss''. Yet, the United States continues to have startling rates 
of obesity among adults and children. In 2010, estimates from the CDC 
National Center for Health Statistics showed that since 1980, the 
percentage of children who are overweight has more than doubled, and 
the percentage of adolescents who are overweight 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 cost of the health care system, including insurance 
premiums, reflects the epidemic. The consequences for kids 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.
  This bill seeks to provide the first national strategy to combat the 
epidemic by directing the CDC to do three things: 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. This 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. 
medical 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.
  A focused national health initiative would provide guidance to the 
states to engage in similar programs, as mayors of some cities have 
done. National focus could lead to full participation in high school 
physical education classes, participation in which has 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.
  According to a recent study conducted by the American College of 
Sports Medicine, the District of Columbia is the fittest city in the 
United States, and yet, obesity continues to be a severe problem even 
here. Most of the obesity epidemic is exercise-food-related. One-fifth 
of the District of Columbia is considered to be obese, and if the 
number is this high in the nation's capital, one shudders to think how 
high it is for other areas of the nation. We need to act now.
  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.

                          ____________________