[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 46 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E328-E329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFELONG IMPROVEMENTS IN FOOD AND EXERCISE ACT OF 
                                  2018

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 15, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to reintroduce the Lifelong 
Improvements in Food and Exercise 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 other major demographic groups, and threaten the health 
of Americans like no other disease or condition. In fact, the key to 
eliminating many of the most serious health conditions is

[[Page E329]]

not only to reduce overweight and obesity, but also to encourage 
exercise of all kinds.
  The LIFE Act 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. Specifically, my bill seeks to provide the first 
national strategy to combat the overweight and obesity 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 
by the states in everyday life, such as in the workplace and in 
community settings. This legislation, however, meets the bare minimum 
for what is needed to address our most important health crisis.
  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. The CDC also reports that Type 2 Diabetes, once 
considered an adult disease, is now widespread among children. The 
rising cost of the health care system, including insurance premiums, 
reflects this epidemic. 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 86 percent of U.S. medical care costs.
  A focused national health initiative would provide guidance to the 
states to engage in similar programs, as mayors of some cities have 
done. A national focus could lead to changes, such as full 
participation in high school physical education classes, which dropped 
from 42 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2005. Changes in nutrition are 
equally critical because more than half of all young people consume too 
much fat, a factor in the doubling of the percentage of overweight 
youth. Data also show an increase in unhealthy eating habits for adults 
and no change in physical activity.
  According to a 2017 study conducted by the American College of Sports 
Medicine, the District of Columbia is one of the fittest cities in the 
United States and, yet, even here, obesity continues to be a severe 
problem. Most of the obesity epidemic is exercise-and-food-related. 
Approximately one-fifth of District residents are considered obese.
  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.

                          ____________________