GMA welcomes healthy children legislation
introduction of legislation, giving schools the tools and financial
means to combat childhood obesity by improving students' nutrition
and activity habits.
The Childhood Obesity Reduction Act aims to encourage schools and communities to develop and implement programs to educate students to make better nutritional choices and to increase their physical activity.
"By giving schools the resources they need, this legislation will help students develop healthy habits," said GMA's senior vice president of government affairs Mary Sophos. "It is an excellent example of how we can arrest and reverse the rising rates of obesity in America - especially among our nation's youth."
The bill will authorize $2.2 million in 2005 to be spent on establishing a congressional council to combat childhood obesity. The council will highlight successful programs, develop nutrition and exercise plans for schools, and coordinate outreach and public awareness efforts. After two years of identifying and selecting model programs, the council will create a public-private foundation that will award grants to schools that wish to implement model anti-obesity programs.
GMA told NutraIngredientsusa that the point of this legislation was to help children make good life-style choices to enable them to live healthy lives. "This is not a weight-loss program, but a way of giving kids skills for life," a spokesperson said.
More than 15 percent of American children and teenagers between the ages of six and 19 are overweight, nearly four times the percentage in 1960. Being overweight or obese carries increased risks for heart disease, cancer and musculoskeletal disorders, such as osteoarthritis.
Being overweight or obese also increases a child's risk of having diabetes, which can lead to a host of chronic illnesses and is the leading cause of kidney disease, heart disease, amputations, and blindness.
