I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2227

To encourage innovative school-based activities to help reduce and prevent 

obesity among children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To encourage innovative school-based activities to help reduce 

and prevent obesity among children, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Obesity Prevention 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE AND LOCAL WELLNESS PROJECTS. 

7 Section 18 of the National School Lunch Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting after subsection (e) 

9 the following new subsections: 
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1 ‘‘(f) STATE NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL FITNESS

2 PROJECTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

4 of funds made available under paragraph (6), the 

5 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu6 cation, shall, on a competitive basis, award grants to 

7 not more than 20 State educational agencies for 

8 purposes of creating model nutrition education and 

9 physical fitness programs, consistent with current 

10 dietary and fitness guidelines, for students in ele11 mentary schools and secondary schools. 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE PARTICIPA13 TION.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this 

14 subsection, a State educational agency shall submit 

15 an application to the Secretary at such time, and in 

16 such manner, and containing such information as 

17 the Secretary may require, including—

18 ‘‘(A) a description of how the proposed nu19 trition and physical activity program will pro20 mote healthy eating and physical fitness and 

21 address the health and social consequences of 

22 children who are overweight or obese; 

23 ‘‘(B) information describing how nutrition 

24 activities are to be coordinated at the State 
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1 level with other health activities conducted by 

2 education, health, and agriculture agencies; 

3 ‘‘(C) information describing how physical 

4 fitness activities are to be coordinated at the 

5 State level with other fitness activities con6 ducted by education, health, and parks and 

7 recreation agencies; 

8 ‘‘(D) a description of the consultative proc9 ess that the State educational agency employed 

10 in the development of the model nutrition and 

11 physical fitness program, including consulta12 tions with individuals and organizations with 

13 expertise in promoting public health, nutrition, 

14 or physical activity, and organizations rep15 resenting the agriculture, food and beverage, 

16 and fitness industries; and 

17 ‘‘(E) a description of how the State edu18 cational agency will evaluate the effectiveness of 

19 its program. 

20 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—Subject to the availability of 

21 funds made available to carry out this subsection, a 

22 State educational agency receiving a grant under

23 this subsection shall conduct the project for a period 

24 of 3 successive school years. 
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1 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible ap2 plicant that receives a grant under this subsection 

3 may use funds provided under the grant to carry out 

4 one or more of the following activities: 

5 ‘‘(A) Collecting, analyzing, and dissemi6 nating data regarding the extent to which chil7 dren and youth in the State are overweight or 

8 physically inactive and the programs and serv9 ices available to meet those needs. 

10 ‘‘(B) Developing and implementing model 

11 elementary and secondary education curricula 

12 to create a comprehensive, coordinated nutrition 

13 and physical fitness awareness and obesity pre14 vention program. 

15 ‘‘(C) Developing and implementing pilot 

16 programs in schools to increase physical fitness 

17 and to enhance the nutritional status of stu18 dents, including through the increased con19 sumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, 

20 and lowfat dairy products. 

21 ‘‘(D) Developing and implementing State 

22 guidelines in health, which include nutrition 

23 education, and physical education and empha24 size regular physical activity during school 

25 hours.
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1 ‘‘(E) Collaborating with community based 

2 organizations, volunteer organizations, State 

3 medical associations, and public health groups 

4 to develop and implement nutrition and physical 

5 education programs targeting lower income chil6 dren, ethnic minorities, and other children and 

7 youth at greater risk for obesity. 

8 ‘‘(F) Collaborating with public or private 

9 organizations that have as a mission the raising 

10 of public awareness of the importance of a bal11 anced diet and an active lifestyle, such as 5-A12 Day, a public-private initiative with the goal to 

13 increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. 

14 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Funds made available 

15 under this subsection shall not be used to disparage 

16 any agricultural commodity, food, or beverage. 

17 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Within 18 months of comple18 tion of the projects and the evaluations, the Sec19 retary shall submit to the Committee on Education 

20 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

22 and Pensions of the Senate a report describing the 

23 results of the evaluation of the demonstration pro24 grams and shall make such reports available to the 

25 public, including through the Internet. 
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1 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There is authorized to be appropriated for the pur3 pose of carrying out this subsection $10,000,000 for 

4 each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

5 ‘‘(g) LOCAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL FITNESS

6 PROJECT.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

8 of funds made available under paragraph (7), the 

9 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu10 cation, shall award grants to not more than 100 

11 local educational agencies, at least one per State, for 

12 the establishment of pilot projects for purposes of 

13 promoting healthy eating habits and increasing 

14 physical fitness, consistent with the Dietary Guide15 lines for Americans established by the Department 

16 of Agriculture, among elementary and secondary 

17 education students. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN

19 PILOT PROJECT.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

20 under this subsection, a local educational agency 

21 shall, in consultation with individuals who possess 

22 education or experience appropriate for representing 

23 the general field of public health, including nutrition 

24 and fitness professionals, submit to the Secretary an 

25 application that shall include—
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1 ‘‘(A) a description of the local educational 

2 agency’s need for nutrition and fitness pro3 grams; 

4 ‘‘(B) a description of how the proposed 

5 project will improve health and nutrition 

6 through education and increased access to phys7 ical activity; 

8 ‘‘(C) a description of how funds under this 

9 subsection will be coordinated with other pro10 grams under this Act, the Child Nutrition Act 

11 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), or other 

12 Acts, as appropriate, to improve student health 

13 and nutrition; 

14 ‘‘(D) a statement of the local educational 

15 agency’s measurable goals for nutrition and fit16 ness education and promotion; and 

17 ‘‘(E) a description of the procedures the 

18 agency will use for assessing and publicly re19 porting progress toward meeting those goals. 

20 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—Subject to the availability of 

21 funds made available to carry out this subsection, a 

22 local educational agency receiving a grant under this

23 subsection shall conduct the project during a period 

24 of 3 successive school years. 
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1 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible ap2 plicant that receives a grant under this subsection 

3 may use funds provided under the grant to carry out 

4 one or more of the following activities: 

5 ‘‘(A) Promoting healthy eating through the 

6 development and implementation of nutrition 

7 education programs and curricula. 

8 ‘‘(B) Increasing opportunities for physical 

9 activity through afterschool programs, athletics, 

10 intramural activities, and recess. 

11 ‘‘(C) Educating parents and students 

12 about the relationship of a poor diet and inac13 tivity to obesity and other health problems. 

14 ‘‘(D) Promoting and supporting school nu15 trition services, such as counseling and behavior 

16 management. 

17 ‘‘(E) Developing and implementing phys18 ical education programs that promote fitness 

19 and lifelong activity. 

20 ‘‘(F) Providing training and technical as21 sistance to food service professionals to develop 

22 nutritious, more appealing menus and recipes. 

23 ‘‘(G) Incorporating nutrition education 

24 into physical education, health education, and 

25 afterschool programs, including athletics. 
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1 ‘‘(H) Involving parents, food service staff, 

2 educators, community leaders, and other inter3 ested parties in assessing the food options in 

4 the school environment and developing and im5 plementing an action plan to promote a bal6 anced and healthy diet. 

7 ‘‘(I) Providing nutrient content or nutri8 tion information on meals served through the 

9 school lunch or school breakfast programs and 

10 items sold a la carte during meal times. 

11 ‘‘(J) Encouraging the increased consump12 tion of a variety of healthy foods through new 

13 initiatives such as salad bars and fresh fruit 

14 bars. 

15 ‘‘(K) Providing nutrition education, includ16 ing sports nutrition education, for teachers, 

17 coaches, food service staff, athletic trainers, and 

18 school nurses. 

19 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Funds made available 

20 under this subsection shall not be used to disparage 

21 an agricultural commodity, food, or beverage. 

22 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Within 18 months of comple23 tion of the projects and evaluations, the Secretary 

24 shall submit to the Committee on Education and the 

25 Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 
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1 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen2 sions of the Senate a report describing the results of 

3 the evaluation of the pilot projects and shall make 

4 such reports available to the public, including 

5 through the Internet. 

6 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur8 pose of carrying out this subsection, $20,000,000 for 

9 fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be necessary 

10 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. INCORPORATION OF OBESITY PREVENTION TREAT12 MENT AND SERVICES INTO STATE CHIL13 DREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall, in accordance with subsection (b), 

16 carry out a program to encourage States to implement 

17 plans to carry out activities to assist children with obesity 

18 or children at risk of becoming obese. 

19 (b) RELATION TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE

20 PROGRAM.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), if 

22 a State child health plan under title XXI of the So23 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) pro24 vides for activities described in subsection (a) to an 

25 extent satisfactory to the Secretary, the Secretary 
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1 shall, with amounts appropriated under subsection 

2 (c), make a grant to that State to assist the State 

3 in carrying out such activities. 

4 (2) CRITERIA REGARDING ELIGIBILITY FOR

5 GRANT.—The Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

6 Register criteria describing the circumstances in 

7 which the Secretary shall consider a State plan to be 

8 satisfactory for purposes of paragraph (1). 

9 (3) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the 

11 costs of the activities to be carried out by a 

12 State pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 

13 may make a grant under such paragraph only 

14 if the State agrees to make available (directly 

15 or through donations from public or private en16 tities) non-Federal contributions toward such 

17 costs in an amount that is not less than 15 per18 cent of the costs. 

19 (B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT CON20 TRIBUTED.—Non-Federal contributions re21 quired in subparagraph (A) may be in cash or 

22 in kind, fairly evaluated, including equipment or 

23 services. Amounts provided by the Federal Gov24 ernment, or services assisted or subsidized to 

25 any significant extent by the Federal Govern-
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1 ment, may not be included in determining the 

2 amount of such non-Federal contributions. 

3 (4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—With respect to 

4 State child health plans under title XXI of the So5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), the 

6 Secretary, acting through the Director of the Cen7 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, in consulta8 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies in9 volved in obesity treatment and prevention, shall 

10 make available to the States technical assistance in 

11 developing the provision of such plans that will pro12 vide for activities pursuant to paragraph (1). 

13 (c) FUNDING.—For the purpose of carrying out this 

14 section, there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

15 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

16 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON OBESITY TREATMENT AND PRE17 VENTION. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is es19 tablished the Commission on Obesity Treatment and Pre20 vention (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) 

21 whose purpose shall be to oversee the research, policy for22 mation, and other activities of the Federal government re23 garding the prevention and treatment of obesity. 

24 (b) DUTIES OF COMMISSION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The duties of the Commis2 sion shall be to—

3 (A) facilitate coordination between the 

4 Federal agencies involved in obesity treatment 

5 and prevention; 

6 (B) identify State and local needs for obe7 sity treatment and prevention initiatives; 

8 (C) identify ways to streamline the process 

9 through which Federal agencies can aid in the 

10 treatment and prevention of obesity; 

11 (D) share information on successful pro12 grams and initiatives carried out on Federal, 

13 State, and local levels; 

14 (E) create or recommend ways to better 

15 coordinate the Federal response to obesity 

16 treatment and prevention; and 

17 (F) assure the ongoing collection of food 

18 consumption data through a national system of 

19 monitoring and evaluation. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out its duties 

21 under this section, the Commission shall consult 

22 with—

23 (A) representatives of State and local gov24 ernments; 
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1 (B) educators, including coaches and nutri2 tion professionals; and 

3 (C) community based organizations. 

4 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com5 posed of not more than 20 members appointed by the 

6 President as follows: 

7 (1) 1 representative from the Department of 

8 Health and Human Services. 

9 (2) 2 representative from the Department of 

10 Agriculture, 1 of whom shall be a representative 

11 from the Food and Nutrition Service. 

12 (3) 1 representative from the Department of 

13 Education. 

14 (4) 1 representative from the Center for Medi15 care and Medicaid Services. 

16 (5) 1 representative from the National Center 

17 for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Pro18 motion of the Centers for Disease Control. 

19 (6) 1 representative from the President’s Coun20 cil for Physical Fitness and Sports. 

21 (7) 1 representative from the National Insti22 tutes of Health. 

23 (8) At least 1 representative from private sector 

24 nutrition and public health organizations. 
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1 (9) At least 1 representative from food, fitness, 

2 and other appropriate industries.

3 (10) Representatives from any other Federal 

4 agencies or from the private sector as the President 

5 considers appropriate. 

6 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Com7 mission shall be elected by a majority of its members. 

8 (e) TERMS AND VACANCIES.—Each member shall be 

9 appointed for a term of 4 years and may be reappointed 

10 for consecutive terms. A vacancy in the Commission shall 

11 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 

12 was made. 

13 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least 

14 twice a year at the call of the chairperson or a majority 

15 of its members. 

16 (g) REPORT.—The Commission shall transmit to the 

17 Congress a report every 2 years which shall—

18 (1) describe and evaluate Federal efforts being 

19 taken to reduce and help prevent obesity in the 

20 United States;

21 (2) make recommendations for activities and 

22 policy that may help reduce and prevent obesity; 

23 (3) identify research needs, especially research 

24 in methods to create and sustain behavior change; 

25 and 
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1 (4) identify gaps, inconsistencies, and 

2 redundancies in Federal policy for agriculture, nutri3 tion, and health. 

4 SEC. 5. NATIONAL HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 

5 AWARDS. 

6 (a) PRESIDENT’S HEALTH AND FITNESS AWARDS.—

7 The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consulta8 tion with the Secretary of Education, shall establish a rec9 ognition program for the granting of awards, to be known 

10 as the ‘‘President’s Health and Fitness Awards’’, to ele11 mentary and secondary schools with—

12 (1) outstanding physical fitness and nutrition 

13 education programs; and 

14 (2) demonstrated improvements in student fit15 ness, nutrition awareness, and overall student 

16 health. 

17 (b) PRESIDENT’S HEALTH AND FITNESS TEACHER

18 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary 

21 of Education, shall establish a program for the 

22 granting and administration of awards to recognize 

23 and reward—

24 (A) teachers, coaches, or other related per25 sonnel in elementary and secondary schools who 
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1 demonstrate excellence in providing innovative 

2 and effective physical fitness and nutrition edu3 cation programs for elementary and secondary 

4 school students; and 

5 (B) the local educational agencies that em6 ploy such teachers. 

7 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—1 teacher, and the local edu8 cational agency employing such teacher, from each 

9 State, the District of Columbia, and the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico, shall be eligible for an award 

11 under this subsection. 

12 (3) CASH AWARDS.—

13 (A) TEACHERS.—The Secretary of Health 

14 and Human Services is authorized to provide a 

15 cash award of up to $2,500 to each teacher or 

16 coach selected to receive an award pursuant to 

17 this subsection, which shall be used to further 

18 the recipient’s professional development in 

19 physical education or nutrition education. 

20 (B) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—The 

21 Secretary of Health and Human Services is au22 thorized to provide a cash award of up to 

23 $2,500 to the local educational agency employ24 ing any teacher or coach selected to receive an 

25 award pursuant to this subsection, which shall 
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1 be used to fund physical fitness or nutrition 

2 education activities and programs. Awards 

3 granted under this subparagraph shall not be 

4 used for construction costs, general expenses, 

5 salaries, bonuses, or other administrative ex6 penses. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health 

9 and Human Services such sums as may be necessary to 

10 carry out this section. 

11 SEC. 6. NUTRITION AND HEALTH EDUCATION IN AFTER12 SCHOOL PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) Section 4205(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (11) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

17 (12) ; and 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(13) nutrition and health education pro21 grams.’’.

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