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TO URGE APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCIES, AS WELL AS PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO HELP REDUCE OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG SOUTH CAROLINA'S YOUTH.
Whereas, one of every ten schoolchildren in the world is overweight, and an estimated eighteen million children under age five are classified as overweight; and
Whereas, the obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies; in developing countries, it is estimated that more than one hundred fifteen million people suffer from obesity-related problems coexisting with under-nutrition; and
Whereas, in a study involving fifteen industrialized nations, children from the United States were the most likely to be overweight, and obesity in children is now epidemic in the United States; and
Whereas, overweight and obese children become sick more often; frequently perform more poorly in school; are often socially marginalized and isolated; and experience psychological stress and mental-health problems such as depression, lack of self-confidence, and low self-esteem; and
Whereas, overweight and obese children are at heightened risk for a number of chronic adult conditions like Type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, asthma and other respiratory problems, liver disease, skin and sleep disorders, and trouble with bones and joints; and
Whereas, overweight adolescents have a seventy percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults; and
Whereas, children of African ancestry have particularly high obesity prevalence, and African Americans are the leading demographic of affected patients in thirteen of the top fifteen deadly diseases directly related to obesity; and
Whereas, for the sake of South Carolina's children, it is imperative that both public and private authorities in the Palmetto State address the issue of childhood overweight and obesity, especially with an eye to reducing the high prevalence of these conditions among children of African American ancestry. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, urge appropriate state agencies, as well as private organizations, to develop and implement policies and programs to help reduce overweight and obesity among South Carolina's youth.
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