RESOLUTION CHAPTER _______

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 34, 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.

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.

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