Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 34

Introduced by Senator Monning

March 25, 2015

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 34—Relative to Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 34, as introduced, Monning. Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of September 2015, and each year thereafter, as Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and would express the Legislature’s support of various programs that work to reduce obesity among children.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Childhood obesity is recognized as a national
epidemic and can contribute to low self-esteem, poor body image,
eating disorders, and depression; and

WHEREAS, Overweight children are at a greater risk of
developing many health problems during childhood, including
type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and orthopedic
problems; and

WHEREAS, Overweight children are more likely to be obese
as adults, putting them at a much higher risk for heart disease,
stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma, dental erosion, certain
types of cancer, and other disabilities later in life; and

WHEREAS, Childhood obesity has more than doubled in
children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past three decades;
and

WHEREAS, In California, nearly 40 percent of children are
considered overweight or obese; and

WHEREAS, No group has escaped these increased obesity
trends, and the problem is particularly concerning among
low-income individuals and communities of color. If the current
obesity trends are not reversed, it is predicted that one in three
children born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes in their
lifetime, and nearly one-half of Latino and African American
children are likely to develop the disease; and

WHEREAS, Those that are overweight, obese, or physically
inactive are estimated to cost California tens of billions of dollars
for medical care, workers’ compensation, and lost productivity;
and

WHEREAS, Childhood obesity is a preventable public health
epidemic that can be addressed through a number of public policies
and community initiatives, which includes, but are not limited to,
providing equitable access to safe places to play, increasing access
to affordable healthful foods and beverages, and providing less
access to high-calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims the month of
September 2015, and each year thereafter, as Childhood Obesity
Awareness Month in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature supports programs that work to
increase exercise among children, work to educate children about
healthy eating and drinking habits, and work to remove barriers
that contribute to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating and
drinking habits; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies to
the author for appropriate distribution.