Amended in Assembly August 10, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 199

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

June 21, 2016

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 199—Relative to Obesity Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 199, as amended, Bonta. Obesity Awareness Month.

This measure would annually proclaim the month of November as Obesity Awareness Month in California.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Obesity is recognized as a national begin delete epidemic end delete
begin insert epidemic, end insert and each state must seek out all necessary means to fight
it; and

WHEREAS, More than one-third of adults in the United States
(34.9 percent), or approximately 111 million Americans, begin delete are obese; end delete
begin insert have obesity; end insert and

WHEREAS, In California, nearly 60 percent of adults are
begin delete considered end delete overweight or begin delete obese end delete begin insert have obesity end insert and one in four begin delete are
obese; end delete begin insert have obesity; end insert and

WHEREAS, Minorities in California are disproportionately
affected by obesity, with approximately 34.7 percent of African
Americans and 31.7 percent of Latinos considered begin delete obese; end delete begin insert as having
obesity; end insert and

WHEREAS, Those without economic means are
disproportionately affected by obesity; 33 percent of those with
incomes of $15,000 per year or less begin delete are obese, end delete begin insert have obesity, end insert
compared with 24.6 percent of those who make at least $50,000
per year, while 33 percent of those not graduating high school begin delete are
obese end delete begin insert have obesity, end insert compared begin delete to end delete begin insert with end insert 21.5 percent of those who
graduated college or technical college; and

WHEREAS, Obesity has been linked to many comorbidities
and chronic diseases, with the six most common and most costly
being type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke,
arthritis, and certain types of cancer; and

WHEREAS, Obesity is one of the largest drivers of health care
costs, with estimates ranging from $147 billion to $210 billion in
annual medically related costs as of 2012; and

WHEREAS, The State of California paid approximately $1.3
billion in obesity-related costs in Medi-Cal in 2013, and annual
costs of severe obesity begin delete cost end delete begin insert amounted to end insert $9.1 billion in overall
health care costs in 2013; and

WHEREAS, The estimated medically related costs of adult
obesity are expected to rise to $620 billion annually by 2030; and

WHEREAS, Obesity-related job absenteeism costs begin delete United
States’ end delete employers begin insert in the United States end insert at least $4.3 billion annually,
taking a toll on the economy; and

WHEREAS, Almost every state that demonstrates a 5-percent
decrease in average body mass index will experience an
approximate begin delete 6.5 percent end delete begin insert 6.5-percent end insert to begin delete 7.9 percent end delete begin insert 7.9-percent end insert
reduction in overall health care costs over the next 5 to 10 years;
and

WHEREAS, The American Medical Association (AMA) has
now recognized obesity as a chronic disease requiring a range of
medical interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention,
and health professionals from a large and growing number of other
professional medical societies have signaled their support for the
AMA’s decision to recognize obesity as a disease; and

WHEREAS, Significant innovations in treatment and medical
interventions, begin delete including pharmacotherapy and other medical
interventions, end delete begin insert including, among others, pharmacotherapy, end insert have
been approved for the medical community in recent years; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of
November begin delete 2016 end delete begin insert 2016, end insert and begin delete each year thereafter end delete begin insert each November
thereafter, end insert as Obesity Awareness Month in California; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Legislature supports policies to reduce obesity
in California and the costs associated with the disease; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
begin insert of this resolution end insert to the author for appropriate distribution.