IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 511 

Expressing support for designation of September as ‘‘National Childhood 

Obesity Awareness Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 

Ms. FUDGE (for herself, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. KIND, and Mr. REICHERT) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for designation of September as 

‘‘National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month’’. 

Whereas childhood obesity has more than quadrupled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 40 years; 

Whereas 17 percent or 12,550,000 children and adolescents 

aged 0 to 17 years are obese; 

Whereas childhood obesity is more prevalent among children 

from low-income families; for example, 14.5 percent of 

preschool children living below the poverty threshold are 

obese; 

Whereas significant disparities exist among the obesity rates 

of children based on race; for example, on average 38.5 

percent of Hispanic/Latino children and 35.2 percent of 

African-American children ages 6 to 11 are overweight or 


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•HRES 511 IH 

obese, compared with 28.5 percent of Non-Hispanic 

White children, and American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents are 50 percent more likely than non-Hispanic 

Whites to be overweight; 

Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity pose 

a financial threat to our economy and healthcare system, 

carrying up to $14,000,000,000 per year in direct 

healthcare cost, with people in the United States spending about 10 percent of their total medical costs on obesity-related illnesses; 

Whereas obese children ages 10 to 13 have an 80-percent 

chance of being obese adults and are more likely than 

children of normal weight to become overweight or obese 

adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult 

health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, 

sleep apnea, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis; 

Whereas in part due to the childhood obesity epidemic, 1 in 

3 children (and nearly 1 in 2 minority children) born in 

the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes at some point 

in their lifetime if current trends continue; 

Whereas some consequences of childhood and adolescent obesity are psychosocial and can hinder academic and social 

functioning and persist into adulthood; 

Whereas participating in physical activity is important for 

children and teens as it may have beneficial effects not 

only on body weight, but also on blood pressure and bone 

strength; 

Whereas proper nutrition is important for children before 

birth and through their lifespan as nutrition has beneVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Sep 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR511.IH HR511

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ficial effects for health and body weight, and is important 

in the prevention of various chronic diseases; 

Whereas childhood obesity is preventable; yet for the first 

time in two centuries, the current generation of children 

in the United States may have shorter life expectancies 

than their parents; 

Whereas public, community-based, and private sector organizations and individuals throughout the United States are 

working to decrease childhood obesity rates for people in 

the United States of all races through a range of efforts, 

including educational presentations, media campaigns, 

websites, policies, healthier food options, and greater opportunities for physical activity; and 

Whereas September would be an appropriate month to designate as ‘‘National Childhood Obesity Awareness 

Month’’ to educate the public about the need for increased education and proactive steps to prevent childhood obesity: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of ‘‘National 

3 Childhood Obesity Awareness Month’’ to raise public 

4 awareness and mobilize the country to address child5 hood obesity; 

6 (2) recognizes the importance of preventing 

7 childhood obesity and decreasing its prevalence in 

8 the United States; and 

9 (3) requests that the President encourage the 

10 Federal Government, States, Tribes and Tribal orga11 nizations, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, 


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1 businesses, other entities, and the people of the 

2 United States to observe the month with appropriate 

3 programs and activities with the goal of promoting 

4 healthy eating and physical activity and increasing 

5 awareness of childhood obesity among individuals of 

6 all ages and walks of life. 

Æ 


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