(7) About two-thirds of young people in grades 
9–12 are not engaged in recommended levels of 
physical activity. Daily participation in high school 
physical education classes dropped from 42 percent 
in 1991 to 33 percent in 2005. 
(8) 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, and respiratory problems, 
and some cancers, such as endometrial, breast, and 
colon cancer. 
(9) 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. 
(10) 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 
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engaging in physical activity, can prevent or control 
the devastating effects of these diseases. Although 
chronic diseases are among the most common and 
costly health problems, they are also among the 
most preventable. 
(11) According to the Surgeon General’s Call to 
Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and 
Obesity, the cost of obesity in the United States in 
2000 was more than $117 billion. 
SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN PREVALENCE OF OBESITY; PRO-
GRAM FOR LIFELONG IMPROVEMENTS IN 
FOOD AND EXERCISE. 
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 317S the following section: 
‘‘REDUCTION IN PREVALENCE OF OBESITY 
‘‘SEC. 317T. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, act-
ing through the Director of the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, shall carry out a national program 
to conduct and support activities regarding individuals 
who are overweight 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 
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or contracts) carry out the following with respect to indi-
viduals who are overweight: 
‘‘(1) Activities to train health professionals to 
recognize that patients are overweight and to rec-
ommend prevention activities regarding such condi-
tion, including educating patients on the relationship 
between such condition and cardiovascular disease, 
diabetes and other health conditions, and on proper 
nutrition and regular physical activities. 
‘‘(2) Activities to educate the public with re-
spect to the condition of being overweight, 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 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and 
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 
2010 through 2013.’’. 
Æ 
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