[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE PROMOTING HEALTHIER LIFELONG IMPROVEMENTS IN FOOD 
                        AND EXERCISE ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2020

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Promoting 
Healthier Lifelong Improvements in Food and Exercise Act (LIFE Act), 
which authorizes 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 
among Americans of every age, race and major demographic group, and 
threaten the health of Americans like no 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.
  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 would require the CDC to establish 
the first national strategy to combat the overweight and obesity 
epidemic. The CDC, either directly or through grants to states or local 
organizations, would train health professionals to recognize the signs 
of overweight and obesity early in order to educate Americans about 
proper nutrition and regular exercise; conduct public education 
campaigns about how to recognize and address overweight and obesity; 
and develop intervention strategies for use in everyday life, such as 
in the workplace and community settings.
  In 2017, estimates from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics 
showed that since 1971 to 1974, the percentage of children and 
adolescents who are obese has increased from 5 percent to 18.5 percent. 
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 75 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 greater participation 
in high school physical education classes, which dropped from 42 
percent in 1991 to 25 percent in 1995 and has remained constant through 
2015. Changes in nutrition are equally critical because more than half 
of all young people consume too much fat, a factor in the increase of 
overweight youth. Data also show an increase in unhealthy eating habits 
for adults and no change in physical activity.
  To cite an example of the need for action, the District of Columbia 
is one of the fittest cities in the United States, according to a 2019 
study by the American College of Sports Medicine, yet even here, 
obesity continues to be a severe problem. Approximately one-fifth of 
District residents are considered obese. Most of the obesity epidemic 
is exercise-and-food-related.
  I urge support of this important bill to mobilize the country now 
before entirely preventable health conditions, which often begin in 
childhood, overwhelm the nation's health care system.

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