I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5322 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national program 
to conduct and support activities toward the goal of significantly reducing 
the number of cases of overweight and obesity among individuals in 
the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2018 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
a national program to conduct and support activities 
toward the goal of significantly reducing the number 
of cases of overweight and obesity among individuals 
in the United States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Healthier 
Lifelong Improvements in Food and Exercise Act of 
2018’’ or the ‘‘LIFE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Currently, 69 percent of adults in the 
United States are overweight and 78.6 million (more 
than one-third of the adult population in the United 
States) are obese. 
(2) Data from two National Health and Nutri-
tion Examination Surveys show that, the prevalence 
of obesity among adults increased from 15.0 percent 
in 1976–1980 to 35.3 percent in 2011–2012. 
(3) In 2011–2012, more than 12,700,000 chil-
dren and adolescents (or 17 percent) were over-
weight, and more than 78,600,000 adults (or 34.9 
percent) were obese. Almost 6 percent of adults were 
extremely obese. 
(4) The percentage of children who are obese 
has more than doubled and among adolescents the 
percentage has more than tripled. Since 1980, the 
obesity rate for adolescents increased from 5 percent 
to 17 percent. 
(5) Approximately 48 percent of adults in the 
United States do not meet the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention’s Physical Activity Guide-
lines, and national data show an increase in the cal-
orie consumption of adults. 
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(6) The rising rates of obesity portend greater 
disease and health conditions including hypertension, 
high total cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary 
heart 
disease, 
stroke, 
gallbladder 
disease, 
osteoporosis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and 
some cancers, such as endometrial, breast, and colon 
cancer. 
(7) Many underlying factors have been linked to 
the increase in obesity, such as increasing portion 
sizes, eating out more often, increased consumption 
of sugar-sweetened drinks, increasing television, 
computer, and electronic gaming time, changing 
labor markets, and fear of crime, which prevents 
outdoor exercise. 
(8) Chronic diseases account for 1.7 million, or 
70 percent, of all deaths in the United States each 
year. Although chronic diseases are among the most 
common and costly health problems, they are also 
among the most preventable. Adopting a healthy 
lifestyle, such as eating nutritious foods and engag-
ing in physical activity, can prevent or control the 
devastating effects of these diseases. 
(9) In 2008, overall medical costs related to 
obesity for United States adults were estimated to 
be as high as $147 billion. People who were obese 
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had medical costs that were on average $1,429 high-
er than the cost for people of normal body weight. 
SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND 
OBESITY. 
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 317T the following section: 
‘‘SEC. 317U. REDUCTION IN PREVALENCE OF OBESITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, shall carry out a national program to conduct and 
support activities regarding individuals who are over-
weight or obese in order to make progress toward the goal 
of significantly reducing the number of cases of obesity 
among individuals in the United States. 
‘‘(b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall (directly or through grants 
or contracts) carry out the following with respect to indi-
viduals who are overweight or obese: 
‘‘(1) Activities to train health professionals to 
recognize that patients are overweight or obese and 
to recommend prevention activities regarding such 
condition, including educating patients on— 
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‘‘(A) the relationship between such condi-
tion and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and 
other health conditions; and 
‘‘(B) the benefits of proper nutrition and 
regular physical activities. 
‘‘(2) Activities to educate the public with re-
spect to the condition of being overweight or obese, 
including the development of a strategy for a public 
awareness campaign. 
‘‘(3) The development and demonstration of 
intervention strategies for use at worksites and in 
community settings such as hospitals and commu-
nity health centers. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2019, and 
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 
2020 and 2021.’’. 
Æ 
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