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Senate Resolution

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A resolution recognizing April 10, 2008, as "Obesity

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Awareness Day" in Florida.

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     WHEREAS, Florida's leaders have a responsibility to

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encourage and promote healthy lifestyles for the residents of

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this state, including communicating information about healthy

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diet, the importance of physical activity, and the availability

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of clinical treatment, and

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     WHEREAS, in recent years, poor health, in the form of

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obesity and inactivity, has increased dramatically throughout the

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world, and

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     WHEREAS, in America, more than one-half of all adults are

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overweight, representing approximately 69 million people, and

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     WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control, in

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the year 2000 approximately 19.8 percent of adults in the United

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States were classified as "obese," an increase of 61 percent

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since 1991, and

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     WHEREAS, only 22 percent of American adults engage in

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recommended regular physical activity of any intensity during

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leisure time, and only 15 percent engage in the recommended

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amount of vigorous activity, and

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     WHEREAS, obesity can lead to a 50-percent to 100-percent

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increase in risk of death to an individual from all causes, and

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more than 280,000 Americans die each year from obesity-related

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diseases, and

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     WHEREAS, today, 15 percent of all children and adolescents

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are overweight, nearly double the percentage two decades ago, and

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     WHEREAS, in 1980, fewer than 4 percent of childhood diabetes

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cases were Type 2 Diabetes, but that number has since risen to

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approximately 20 percent, and, of the children diagnosed as

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having Type 2 Diabetes, 85 percent are obese, and

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     WHEREAS, because the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes has

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tripled in the last 30 years, more people who have diabetes will

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live longer and have a greater chance of developing disabling,

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life-threatening complications from diabetes, and

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     WHEREAS, the direct costs of inactivity and obesity account

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for approximately 9.4 percent of national health care

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expenditures, with costs reaching at least $39.3 billion, and

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     WHEREAS, Floridians will become more aware of the growing

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problems related to obesity and inactivity if they are given

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pertinent information and if good examples are set by leaders in

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the community, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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     That the Florida Senate recognizes April 10, 2008, as

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"Obesity Awareness Day" in Florida and encourages individuals and

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communities throughout the state to do all they can to promote

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awareness of the serious problems resulting from inactivity and

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excess weight.