[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE ``SAFE ROUTES TO HIGH SCHOOLS ACT OF 2009''

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 4, 2009

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, obesity rates for children between the 
ages of 12 and 19 have more than tripled in the past fifteen years, 
with 17.6 percent of high school age children now classified as obese. 
This has a profound impact on the long-term health of our nation, as 80 
percent of obese children become obese adults, putting them at a higher 
risk for diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and other chronic health 
conditions, and placing an increased long-term burden on our healthcare 
system. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that children 
be active for at least 60 minutes five times a week, but statistics 
show that activity levels drop rapidly as students head into their high 
school years. Increasing opportunities for adolescents to be physically 
active will help combat the rise in teenage obesity.
  We should provide students with safe, active ways to get to and from 
school and encourage healthy, active lifestyles and daily exercise at a 
time when they are seeking independence and cementing lifelong habits 
that will make them safer and healthier.
  This is why I am introducing the Safe Routes to High Schools Act, a 
bill to expand the popular Safe Routes to Schools program to include 
high schools. The Safe Routes to Schools program has been 
extraordinarily successful, with over 4,500 programs across the 
country, but it currently does not cover high schools. High school 
students represent a population most likely to suffer from high rates 
of obesity and also most in need of flexible, independent, and low-cost 
transportation choices, especially in times of economic crisis. This 
simple policy change will allow an already successful program to serve 
the students who need it the most.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation 
to ensure that children of all ages have safe ways to get to school 
burning calories instead of carbon.

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