,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ecbb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ae1 #bjah,ms4
 ,norton introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,energy and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
amend the ,public ,health ,service ,act 
to provide for a national program to    
conduct and support activities toward   
the goal of significantly reducing the  
number of cases of overweight and       
obesity among individuals in the ,united
 ,states4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,promoting          
,healthier ,lifelong ,improvements in   
,food and ,exercise ,act of #bjah or the
 ,,life ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,the       
,congress finds as follows3  7#a7       
,currently1 #fi percent of adults in the
 ,united ,states are overweight and     
#gh4f million 7more than one-third of   
the adult population in the ,united     
,states7 are obese4  7#b7 ,data from two
 ,national ,health and ,nutrition       
,examination ,surveys show that1 the    

prevalence of obesity among adults      
increased from #ae4j percent in         
#aigf-aihj to #ce4c percent in          
#bjaa-bjab4  7#c7 ,in #bjaa-bjab1 more  
than #ab1gjj1jjj children and           
adolescents 7or #ag percent7 were       
overweight1 and more than #gh1fjj1jjj   
adults 7or #cd4i percent7 were obese4   
,almost #f percent of adults were       
extremely obese4  7#d7 ,the percentage  
of children who are obese has more than 
doubled and among adolescents the       
percentage has more than tripled4 ,since
 #aihj1 the obesity rate for adolescents
 increased from #e percent to #ag       
percent4  7#e7 ,approximately #dh       
percent of adults in the ,united ,states
 do not meet the ,centers for ,disease  
,control and ,prevention's ,physical    
,activity ,guidelines1 and national data
 show an increase in the calorie        
consumption of adults4  7#f7 ,the rising
 rates of obesity portend greater       
disease and health conditions including 
hypertension1 high total cholesterol1   

,type #b diabetes1 coronary heart       
disease1 stroke1 gallbladder disease1   
osteoporosis1 sleep apnea1 respiratory  
problems1 and some cancers1 such as     
endometrial1 breast1 and colon cancer4  
7#g7 ,many underlying factors have been 
linked to the increase in obesity1 such 
as increasing portion sizes1 eating out 
more often1 increased consumption of    
sugar-sweetened drinks1 increasing      
television1 computer1 and electronic    
gaming time1 changing labor markets1 and
 fear of crime1 which prevents outdoor  
exercise4  7#h7 ,chronic diseases       
account for #a4g million1 or #gj        
percent1 of all deaths in the ,united   
,states each year4 ,although chronic    
diseases are among the most common and  
costly health problems1 they are also   
among the most preventable4 ,adopting a 
healthy lifestyle1 such as eating       
nutritious foods and engaging in        
physical activity1 can prevent or       
control the devastating effects of these
 diseases4  7#i7 ,in #bjjh1 overall     

medical costs related to obesity for    
,united ,states adults were estimated to
 be as high as #adg billion4 ,people who
 were obese had medical costs that were 
on average #a1dbi higher than the cost  
for people of normal body weight4  #c4  
,reduction in prevalence of overweight  
and obesity ,part ,b of title ,,iii of  
the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db  
,u4,s4,c4 #bdc et seq47 is amended by   
inserting after section #cag,t the      
following section3  #cag,u4 ,reduction  
in prevalence of obesity  7a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary1 acting through 
the ,director of the ,centers for       
,disease ,control and ,prevention1 shall
 carry out a national program to conduct
 and support activities regarding       
individuals who are overweight or obese 
in order to make progress toward the    
goal of significantly reducing the      
number of cases of obesity among        
individuals in the ,united ,states4  7b7
 ,certain activities ,in carrying out   
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall    

7directly or through grants or          
contracts7 carry out the following with 
respect to individuals who are          
overweight or obese3  7#a7 ,activities  
to train health professionals to        
recognize that patients are overweight  
or obese and to recommend prevention    
activities regarding such condition1    
including educating patients on-- 7,a7  
the relationship between such condition 
and cardiovascular disease1 diabetes1   
and other health conditions2 and  7,b7  
the benefits of proper nutrition and    
regular physical activities4  7#b7      
,activities to educate the public with  
respect to the condition of being       
overweight or obese1 including the      
development of a strategy for a public  
awareness campaign4  7#c7 ,the          
development and demonstration of        
intervention strategies for use at      
worksites and in community settings such
 as hospitals and community health      
centers4  7c7 ,authorization of         
appropriations ,for the purpose of      

carrying out this section1 there are    
authorized to be appropriated           
#be1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjai1 and  
such sums as may be necessary for each  
of the fiscal years #bjbj and #bjba4  4