BILL NUMBER: ACR 199	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 10, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonta

                        JUNE 21, 2016

   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  epidemic
  epidemic,  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,  are obese;
  have obesity;  and
   WHEREAS, In California, nearly 60 percent of adults are 
considered  overweight or  obese   have
obesity  and one in four  are obese;  
have obesity;  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  obese;   as
having obesity;  and
   WHEREAS, Those without economic means are disproportionately
affected by obesity; 33 percent of those with incomes of $15,000 per
year or less  are obese,   have obesity, 
compared with 24.6 percent of those who make at least $50,000 per
year, while 33 percent of those not graduating high school 
are obese   have obesity,  compared  to
  with 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  cost   amounted to  $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  United
States'  employers  in the United States  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 
6.5 percent   6.5-percent  to  7.9 percent
  7.9-percent  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,  including pharmacotherapy and other medical
interventions,   including, among others,
pharmacotherapy,  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  2016   2016,  and  each
year thereafter   each November thereafter,  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
 of this resolution  to the author for appropriate
distribution.