,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #efhc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #bg1        
#bjbj,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 #bjbj or the ,,life ,act4  #b4  
,findings ,the ,congress finds as       
follows3  7#a7 ,data from the ,centers  
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention   
shows that in #bjae-bjaf close to #dj   
percent of adults in the ,united ,states
 were obese and #ga4f percent of        
,americans were overweight or obese4    
,approximately #g4g percent of adults   

were severely obese4  7#b7 ,data from   
two ,national ,health and ,nutrition    
,examination ,surveys shows that the    
prevalence of obesity among adults      
increased from #ae4j percent in         
#aigf-aihj to #ci4h percent in          
#bjae-bjaf4  7#c7 ,in #bjae-bjaf1 the   
prevalence of obesity among youth aged  
#b-ai was #ah4e percent and affected    
approximately #ac1gjj1jjj children and  
adolescents4  7#d7 ,the percentage of   
children and adolescents who are obese  
has increased since #aiga-aigd1 when the
 percentage was #e percent4  7#e7 ,in   
#bjah1 only #ec4c percent of ,united    
,states adults aged #ah-fd met the #bjjh
 ,federal guidelines for aerobic        
activity4 ,the #bjjh ,federal ,physical 
,activity ,guidelines for ,american     
,adults recommends #aej minutes a week  
of moderate-intensity aerobic physical  
activity or #ge minutes a week of       
vigorous-intensity aerobic physical     
activity4  7#f7 ,the rising rates of    
obesity portend greater disease and     

health conditions1 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 #a1gjj1jjj1 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              
#adg1jjj1jjj1jjj4 ,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 overweight and 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 overweight and       
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 #bjba1 and  
such sums as may be necessary for each  
of fiscal years #bjbb and #bjbc4  4