Report Title:

Childhood Obesity

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States; and

WHEREAS, according to the California Research Bureau's "Overweight Kids: Why Should We Care?" the total 1995 cost (health care and pharmaceutical costs, workday/lifetime earnings loss) in the United States associated with obesity was $99,200,000,000; and

WHEREAS, the California Research Bureau also reports that after an obese child reaches six years of age, the probability that obesity will persist exceeds fifty per cent; and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades; and

WHEREAS, compared to ten years ago, children are consuming an additional one hundred calories and more per day, primarily from soda, juice, fast foods, and candy; and

WHEREAS, children are also participating less in physical activity, in part because schools demand less from them and in part because fewer affordable and accessible opportunities for physical exercise exist; and

WHEREAS, elementary school children need and deserve to have all of their abilities--mental, social, and physical--nurtured and encouraged while they are young, to build the foundation for a healthy, productive adult life; and

WHEREAS, public schools emphasize intellectual education and socialization, but do not place an equal emphasis on physical education and development of the elementary school child; and

WHEREAS, the lack of training in acquiring a healthy lifestyle also has a negative impact on schoolroom education, as elementary school children who are not able or encouraged to be active during the school day come in from classroom breaks fidgety and unable to focus, causing a slower rate of learning in the classroom environment; and

WHEREAS, public elementary schools offer a limited amount of physical education, but often the physical education teacher is a regular education teacher, not a trained physical education specialist, and has neither the training nor the ability to provide a thorough athletic experience; and

WHEREAS, physical education specialists are only required in secondary schools, not elementary schools; however, they are also needed at the elementary school-level as it is too late to reach children and encourage them to change a sedentary lifestyle at the secondary school-level; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance is an organization committed to expanding and improving elementary physical education under the philosophy that the success of such efforts will have a profound effect on the young people in the public schools; and

WHEREAS, a good physical education program can promote increased activity and help to alleviate the problem of childhood obesity; and

WHEREAS, an emphasis on physical education in elementary school children can help build lifelong health and avoid the health problems and social consequences from being overweight, both as children and as adults, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes (adult onset) caused in part by high fat diets, excessive weight, and a sedentary lifestyle; and

WHEREAS, overweight and obese children are also more likely to experience asthma and bronchial hyperactivity; and

WHEREAS, obese children are more prone to skin disorders, especially if deep skin folds are present; and

WHEREAS, overweight and obese children are at a significant risk of developing psychological disorders including depression, poor self-esteem, and negative self-image and withdrawal from peers; and

WHEREAS, low-cost physical education programs can be developed in elementary schools utilizing nationally recognized model programs such as the SPARK and CATCH programs and the EPIC Program in Michigan; and

WHEREAS, other low-cost alternatives to physical education can also be supported at the elementary school level through the utilization of existing staff if supportive environments and physical education policies are created; and

WHEREAS, the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, along with the University of Hawaii Kinesiology and Leisure Science Department have partnered to test a pilot Physical Education and Nutrition Program in Hawaii's schools and, together with a childhood obesity prevention grant from the Hawaii Medical Services Association (HMSA), have formulated a conference entitled "GOT PE" and will offer this conference to teachers and health professionals on May 9^th and 10^th, 2001; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DOE) recognize childhood obesity as a public health issue and have worked collaboratively on developing a coordinated school health program; and

WHEREAS, DOE should recognize the synergistic impact that physical education has on performance in the elementary school classroom; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that DOH and DOE are requested to examine the problem of childhood obesity and recommend strategies, including the creation of an elementary school level physical education program, to address this problem; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOH, in consultation with DOE, is requested to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2002 regular legislative session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Superintendent of Education, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, DOH's Kahoomiki Program, and the University of Hawaii's Department of Physical Education.