I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5224 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote healthy eating and 
physical activity among children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 
Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote healthy 
eating and physical activity among children. 
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 ‘‘Reducing Obesity in 
Youth Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
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(1) The COVID–19 pandemic has had serious 
impacts on the health and well-being of children and 
families. 
(2) Unemployment and poverty, as well as 
lengthy business, school, and childcare closures, have 
all contributed to elevated levels of food insecurity, 
with an estimated 14,000,000 children in the United 
States not getting enough to eat. 
(3) Millions of children receive free or reduced- 
price meals through early childhood education pro-
grams, including school and early care and education 
programs such as childcare, Head Start, pre-kinder-
garten, and family childcare, making early childhood 
education an important setting for addressing food 
insecurity. 
(4) More than 30,000,000 children receive free 
or reduced-price meals on a daily basis, and access 
to both breakfast and lunch can provide some chil-
dren with more than half of their daily caloric in-
take. 
(5) Due to financial instability during the 
COVID–19 pandemic, there is an increased likeli-
hood of unhealthy weight gain among children as 
families shift to less costly, calorically dense, shelf- 
stable foods, rather than fresh foods. 
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(6) Research has shown that early childhood is 
an important time for developing dietary and phys-
ical activity behaviors that support health and well- 
being and that may help prevent obesity. 
(7) Children who are exposed to healthy foods 
early are more likely develop eating habits that pro-
mote healthy growth that can continue throughout 
childhood, and healthy eating can improve a child’s 
learning ability, potentially lead to higher academic 
performance, improve mental, social, and physical 
well-being, and contribute to increased self-esteem. 
(8) Research underscores the importance of 
physical activity in early childhood. It is not only es-
sential for healthy weight maintenance, but also for 
practicing and learning fundamental gross motor 
skills and improving academic achievement. Further-
more, when children have the opportunity for ade-
quate physical activity, they benefit physically, psy-
chologically and socially. 
(9) Nearly 20 percent (1 in 5) of 2-year-olds 
spend more than 2 hours of a typical day watching 
television or videos, and the Journal of the American 
Medical Association Pediatrics found that each in-
cremental hour of watching television at age 2 is as-
sociated with corresponding declines in school en-
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gagement, math achievement, and weekend physical 
activity, and with increases in bullying by class-
mates, consumption of soft drinks and snacks, and 
body mass index at age 10. 
(10) A study published in the New England 
Journal of Medicine in 2014 found that a third of 
children overweight in kindergarten had obesity by 
the eighth grade. Almost every child with severe obe-
sity remained that way, suggesting that efforts must 
start much earlier and focus more on the children at 
greatest risk. 
(11) A study published in the New England 
Journal of Medicine in 2017 estimates that over 50 
percent of 2-year-olds today will be obese by 35 
years of age. 
(12) A study examining the National Health 
and Nutrition Examination Survey published in 
2018 found an increase in prevalence of childhood 
obesity in 2015 and 2016. Childhood obesity for 
children between 2 and 5 years of age increased 
from 9 percent to 14 percent, the highest increase 
since 1999. 
(13) In 2016, about 82 percent of United 
States preschool-aged children were in childcare, and 
most of their day was spent in sedentary activities. 
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(14) Early care and education centers serve ap-
proximately 7,500,000 children birth through age 5 
years but not yet in kindergarten, making the early 
childhood care and education setting an important 
one for promoting healthful habits. 
(15) More than 122,000 children in 12 States 
have benefitted from efforts to support healthier 
early care and education programs. This includes 
the provision of training and coaching for childcare 
providers and technical assistance to State agencies 
to integrate nutrition and physical activity best prac-
tices into existing State and local systems. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) establish a program that will enhance the 
training and knowledge of early care and education 
providers and influence practices, policies, and envi-
ronments in early care and education settings to 
support healthy eating and physical activity for chil-
dren ages birth through 5, including by addressing 
the growing threat of food insecurity; 
(2) provide support to States on ways to link 
early care and education programs to nutrition sup-
ports; 
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(3) monitor progress of healthy eating and 
physical activity promotion in early care and edu-
cation settings; and 
(4) identify emerging, and expand existing, ap-
proaches to engaging families and parents of chil-
dren ages birth to 5 in healthy eating and physical 
activity. 
SEC. 3. HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM. 
Part Q of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 280h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 399Z–3. HEALTHY KIDS GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) and 
in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for the Ad-
ministration for Children and Families, shall award 5-year 
competitive grants to one or more eligible entities— 
‘‘(1) to improve healthy eating and physical ac-
tivity among children ages birth through 5 years in 
early care and education settings; and 
‘‘(2) to address food insecurity among such 
children. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an entity shall be— 
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‘‘(1) a nonprofit organization with expertise in 
early childhood health and childhood obesity preven-
tion; 
‘‘(2) an institution of higher education (as de-
fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965) or research center that employs faculty with 
relevant expertise and has expertise in training early 
care and education providers; or 
‘‘(3) a consortium of entities described in para-
graphs (1) and (2) that submit a single application 
to carry out activities under the grant jointly. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant under 
subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an application 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor-
mation as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—An 
entity 
shall 
use 
amounts received under a grant under this section to 
work directly with implementing partners, which 
may include States, territories, Indian Tribes, mu-
nicipalities, and nonprofit organizations— 
‘‘(A) to create sustainable programs to 
train early care and education providers 
through direct coaching and peer-learning, ac-
cess to quality technical assistance, and profes-
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sional development opportunities that are fo-
cused on healthy eating, physical activity, ad-
dressing food insecurity, and other topics that 
support children’s healthy development, as de-
termined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(B) to build State capacity through train-
ing, technical assistance, and resources to inte-
grate the promotion of healthy eating and phys-
ical activity into existing early care and edu-
cation programs, systems, and initiatives, in-
cluding linking early care and education pro-
grams to new and existing resources for nutri-
tion supports, with a focus on promoting equity; 
and 
‘‘(C) to test innovative or evidence-in-
formed approaches to promoting healthy habits 
and healthy child development in early care and 
education settings, which may include linking 
early care and education and health care pro-
viders, enhancing early care and education staff 
wellness, enhancing access to quality foods in 
the early care and education settings, and en-
gaging families of children ages birth to 5 years 
served in the early care and education programs 
supported by a grant under this section. 
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‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS.—In selecting 
implementing partners under paragraph (1), a re-
cipient of a grant under this section shall ensure 
that such partners— 
‘‘(A) serve populations that are racially, 
ethnically, socioeconomically, and geographically 
diverse; and 
‘‘(B) represent a mix of rural and urban 
settings. 
‘‘(3) NATIONAL INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.— 
From the amounts appropriated to carry out this 
section, and prior to awarding any grants under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into a con-
tract with an external entity to create a single, uni-
form process to— 
‘‘(A) ensure that entities that receive 
grants under paragraph (1) comply with the re-
quirements of this section; and 
‘‘(B) evaluate the outcomes of the grant 
activities carried out by each participating enti-
ty. 
‘‘(e) TRACKING STATE PROGRESS.—The Secretary 
may use amounts appropriated under subsection (g)(2) to 
enter into contracts with, or award grants to, institutions 
of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or other enti-
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ties with relevant monitoring and surveillance expertise, 
for purposes of— 
‘‘(1) tracking State progress in obesity preven-
tion policies and practices of early care and edu-
cation programs in States where grantees are 
present; and 
‘‘(2) measuring changes in food security within 
exposed groups. 
‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the com-
pletion of the programs and activities (including moni-
toring and surveillance under subsection (e)) funded under 
grants awarded under this section, the Secretary shall sub-
mit to Congress, and all appropriate Federal agencies, a 
report concerning an evaluation of the results of such pro-
grams and activities, including best practices, and lessons 
derived from the experiences of grantees, with respect to 
reducing and preventing food insecurity and obesity and 
overweight among children ages birth through 5 years in 
the early care and education settings. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. 
‘‘(2) 
FUNDING
FOR
TRACKING
STATE 
PROGRESS.—In addition to amounts made available 
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