Senate Bill 2734

    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                      SR 2734

    By Senator Silver





    38-2225-99

  1                    Senate Resolution No.     

  2         A resolution urging the increased education of

  3         the citizens of the state with regard to the

  4         awareness, prevention, and treatment of obesity

  5         as a major health concern.

  6

  7         WHEREAS, 1996 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Data

  8  from the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention

  9  indicates the percentage of state populations who are

10  overweight ranges from 22 to 34 percent, and

11         WHEREAS, the prevalence of obesity in the adult

12  population has grown a shocking 34 percent during the past ten

13  years, and

14         WHEREAS, a causal relationship exists between obesity

15  and a number of serious disorders, including hypertension,

16  dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes (Type II), gall

17  bladder disease, respiratory dysfunction, gout, and

18  osteoarthritis, and

19         WHEREAS, the National Institute of Diabetes and

20  Digestive and Kidney Diseases has provided information that

21  indicates that nearly 80 percent of patients with diabetes

22  mellitus are obese and that the incidence of symptomatic

23  gallstones soars as a person's body-mass index increases

24  beyond a certain level, and

25         WHEREAS, the information also reveals that nearly 70

26  percent of diagnosed cases of cardiovascular disease are

27  related to obesity, that obesity more than doubles a person's

28  chances of developing high blood pressure, that almost half of

29  breast cancer cases are diagnosed among obese women, and that

30  42 percent of colon cancer cases are among obese individuals,

31  and

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                      SR 2734
    38-2225-99




  1         WHEREAS, obesity ranks second only to smoking as a

  2  preventable cause of death and results in some three hundred

  3  thousand deaths annually, and

  4         WHEREAS, a 1997 study indicates that the total direct

  5  cost of obesity-related diseases in the United States in 1990

  6  was $45.8 billion, and

  7         WHEREAS, the study concluded that there is a

  8  significant potential for a reduction in healthcare

  9  expenditures through obesity-prevention efforts, and

10         WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for state healthcare

11  groups and medical societies to place obesity at the top of

12  their state's healthcare agenda, and

13         WHEREAS, many physicians do not treat obesity because

14  they mistakenly believe there is no treatment for it, and

15         WHEREAS, the National Institutes of Health, the

16  American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and the American

17  Obesity Association recommend that patients who are morbidly

18  obese receive responsible, affordable medical treatment for

19  their obesity, and

20         WHEREAS, recent breakthroughs in drug therapy can treat

21  obesity successfully, and

22         WHEREAS, the New England Journal of Medicine recently

23  emphasized the legitimate use of pharmacotherapy as a

24  component of treatment of medically significant obesity, and

25         WHEREAS, there is also great concern regarding what

26  effect obesity in children may have on overall health in

27  children and regarding healthcare costs for children and the

28  need for treatment modalities to address the problem of

29  obesity in children, and

30         WHEREAS, it is of critical importance to raise the

31  awareness of the public and private sectors to the fact that

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)                      SR 2734
    38-2225-99




  1  obesity is a disease of epidemic proportions which is

  2  treatable, and that proper treatment will reduce healthcare

  3  costs and improve the quality of life for a large number of

  4  our citizens, NOW, THEREFORE,

  5

  6  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

  7

  8         That the State of Florida shall endeavor to increase

  9  public awareness among the citizens of the State of Florida

10  with regard to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of

11  obesity as a major health concern.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  3