,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aigh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #aj1 #bjbe,mr4
 ,buchanan 7for himself and ,ms4 ,moore 
of ,wisconsin7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a      
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,defense to develop a strategy to treat 
obesity as a disease and reduce the     
prevalence of obesity in certain ,armed 
,forces1 and for other purposes4  #a4   
,combating obesity in certain ,armed    
,forces  7a7 ,strategy and educational  
campaign  7#a7 ,in general ,not later   
than one year after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,defense shall-- 7,a7 develop a      
strategy to align the obesity-related   
programs of the ,department of ,defense 
with the classification of obesity as a 
medically accepted disease2 and  7,b7   
conduct an educational campaign to      
promote awareness1 diagnosis1 and       
treatment of obesity as a disease in the

 covered ,armed ,forces4  7#b7          
,requirements for strategy ,the strategy
 developed under paragraph 7#a77;,a7    
shall include the following3  7,a7 ,a   
plan to coordinate obesity-related      
programs across the ,department of      
,defense to treat obesity as a disease  
and reduce the prevalence of obesity in 
the covered ,armed ,forces4  7,b7 ,an   
assessment of the effectiveness of      
health programs of the ,department of   
,defense that are intended to educate1  
prevent1 or treat obesity among members 
of the covered ,armed ,forces1 and a    
plan to modify or update such programs  
to treat obesity as a disease4  7,c7 ,an
 assessment of the adequacy of nutrition
 education for physicians and other     
health care practitioners in the        
military health system to evaluate and  
treat obesity as a disease1 including   
the need for any additional education or
 guidelines for such physicians and     
other health care practitioners4  7,d7  
,a strategy to work toward members of   

the covered ,armed ,forces with obesity 
receiving appropriate treatment4  7#c7  
,requirements for educational campaign  
,the educational campaign conducted     
under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall include 
the following3 7,a7 ,information to     
educate members of the covered ,armed   
,forces regarding best practices to     
prevent1 reduce1 or mitigate obesity1   
and available resources to address the  
root causes of obesity4  7,b7           
,information targeted to physicians and 
other health care practitioners in the  
military health system to promote       
diagnosis and treatment of obesity as a 
disease4  7#d7 ,consultation ,in        
developing the strategy and educational 
campaign required by paragraph 7#a71 the
 ,secretary of ,defense shall consult   
with the ,secretary of ,health and      
,human ,services1 acting through the    
,administrator of the ,centers for      
,medicare  ,medicaid ,services1 and     
other agencies of the ,department of    
,health and ,human ,services1 as        

determined appropriate by the ,secretary
 of ,health and ,human ,services4  7b7  
,inclusion of information regarding     
unmet weight standards in certain       
reports ,beginning not later than one   
year after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense   
shall include information regarding     
unmet weight standards in any report    
submitted by the ,secretary to ,congress
 regarding disqualifications for        
enlistment in1 disability incurred in1  
or medical discharges from1 the covered 
,armed ,forces4  7c7 ,additional        
,department of ,defense reports  7#a7   
,effects of obesity on readiness of     
covered ,armed ,forces ,not later than  
one year after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,secretary of        
,defense1 in consultation with the      
,administrator of the ,centers for      
,medicare  ,medicaid ,services1 shall   
submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report regarding the       
effects of obesity on the readiness of  

the covered ,armed ,forces4 ,such report
 shall include legislative              
recommendations of the ,secretary to    
address such effects4  7#b7             
,effectiveness of obesity1 food1 and    
nutrition-related programs of           
,department of ,defense ,not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 
the ,director of the ,defense ,health   
,agency shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on the
 effectiveness of the obesity1 food1 and
 nutrition-related programs of the      
,department of ,defense in reducing     
obesity and improving military          
readiness4  7d7 ,,gao report  7#a7 ,in  
general ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall submit to the appropriate
 congressional committees a report      
analyzing the existing obesity1 food1   
and nutrition-related programs of the   
,department of ,defense4  7#b7          

,requirements ,the report required by   
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3 7,a7 ,an assessment of       
programs directed to members of the     
covered ,armed ,forces4  7,b7 ,an       
assessment of programs directed to      
health care providers in the military   
health system4  7,c7 ,an assessment of  
the effectiveness of such programs in   
reducing obesity and the impact of      
obesity on military readiness4  7,d7    
,recommendations to coordinate and      
improve existing programs to reduce     
obesity and the impact of obesity on    
military readiness4  7e7 ,definitions   
,in this section3  7#a7 ,the term       
appropriate congressional committees    
means the following3 7,a7 ,the          
,committee on ,armed ,services of the   
,house of ,representatives4  7,b7 ,the  
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,house of ,representatives4  7,c7 ,the 
,committee on ,ways and ,means of the   
,house of ,representatives4  7,d7 ,the  
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of  

the ,house of ,representatives4  7,e7   
,the ,committee on ,armed ,services of  
the ,senate4  7,f7 ,the ,committee on   
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate4     
7,g7 ,the ,committee on ,finance of the 
,senate4  7,h7 ,the ,committee on       
,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and        
,pensions of the ,senate4  7#b7 ,the    
term covered ,armed ,force means the    
,army1 ,navy1 ,marine ,corps1 ,air      
,force1 or ,space ,force4