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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 412 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 412

 Designating September 2010 as ``National Childhood Obesity Awareness 
                                Month''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 9 (legislative day, February 8), 2010

Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Designating September 2010 as ``National Childhood Obesity Awareness 
                                Month''.

Whereas during the past 4 decades, obesity rates have soared among all age 
        groups, increasing more than four-fold among children ages 6 to 11;
Whereas 31.8 percent or 23,000,000 children and teenagers ages 2 to 19 are obese 
        or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider an 
        epidemic;
Whereas significant disparities exist among the obesity rates of children based 
        on race and poverty;
Whereas the financial implications of childhood obesity pose a tremendous 
        financial threat to our economy and health care system, carrying up to 
        $14,000,000,000 per year in direct health care cost, with people in the 
        United States spending about 9 percent of their total medical costs on 
        obesity-related illnesses;
Whereas obese young people 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 obese children and adolescents are targets of early and systematic 
        social discrimination, leading to low self-esteem which, in turn, 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 life-span as nutrition has beneficial effects for health and body 
        weight, and is key in the prevention of various chronic diseases;
Whereas childhood obesity is preventable yet does not appear to be declining;
Whereas public, community-based, and private sector organizations and 
        individuals throughout the United States, including First Lady Michelle 
        Obama, 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, Web sites, policies, 
        healthier food options, and greater opportunities for physical activity; 
        and
Whereas Members of Congress have championed legislation to reduce and bring 
        awareness to the issue of childhood obesity: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates September 2010 as ``National Childhood 
        Obesity Awareness Month'' in order to raise public awareness 
        and mobilize the country to address childhood obesity;
            (2) recognizes the importance of preventing childhood 
        obesity and decreasing its prevalence in the United States; and
            (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
        calling on the Federal Government, States, tribes and tribal 
        organizations, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, 
        businesses, other entities, and the people of the United States 
        to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities 
        with the goal of promoting healthy eating and physical activity 
        and increasing awareness of childhood obesity among individuals 
        of all ages and walks of life.
                                 <all>
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