Senate Bill sb1324
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1324
By Senator Peaden
2-885-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the prevention of obesity;
3 amending s. 381.0054, F.S.; requiring the
4 Department of Health to collaborate with other
5 state agencies in developing policies and
6 strategies to prevent obesity which shall be
7 incorporated into agency programs; requiring
8 the department to advise health care
9 practitioners regarding morbidity, mortality,
10 and costs associated with the conditions of
11 being overweight or obese; requiring the
12 department to inform health care practitioners
13 about clinical best practices for obesity
14 prevention and to encourage practitioners to
15 counsel their patients regarding the adoption
16 of healthy lifestyles; providing an
17 appropriation; providing an effective date.
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19 WHEREAS, in 2003, 14 percent of high school students
20 were at risk of being overweight and an additional 12.4
21 percent were overweight, and
22 WHEREAS, in 2003, more than 50 percent of high school
23 students did not participate in any physical education at
24 school, and
25 WHEREAS, in 2003, only approximately 20.7 percent of
26 high school students in this state ate five or more servings
27 of fruits or vegetables each day in a 7-day period, and
28 WHEREAS, in 2003, 42.7 percent of high school students
29 watched television for 3 or more hours on an average school
30 day, and
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1324
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1 WHEREAS, in 2003, 39.9 percent of middle school
2 students did not go to physical education classes at all
3 during an average school week, and
4 WHEREAS, in 2003, on an average school day, 45.3
5 percent of middle school students watched television for 3 or
6 more hours, 18.2 percent used the computer for fun for 3 or
7 more hours, and 14.8 percent reported playing video games for
8 3 or more hours, and
9 WHEREAS, in 2003, only 11.3 percent of middle school
10 students reported eating five or more servings of fruits and
11 vegetables per day, and
12 WHEREAS, approximately 60 percent of overweight
13 children have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular
14 disease such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and
15 about 25 percent of overweight children have two or more risk
16 factors, and
17 WHEREAS, 25 percent of adults and children are obese
18 and 15 million Americans are morbidly obese, and
19 WHEREAS, obesity as a cause of death is preventable and
20 20,000 Floridians die annually from obesity-related diseases,
21 and
22 WHEREAS, obesity-related medical expenditures for
23 adults in this state total more than $3.9 billion yearly, with
24 over half of the costs being financed by Medicare and
25 Medicaid, NOW, THEREFORE,
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27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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29 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 381.0054, Florida
30 Statutes, is amended to read:
31 381.0054 Healthy lifestyles promotion.--
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1324
2-885-06
1 (1) The Department of Health shall promote healthy
2 lifestyles to reduce the prevalence of excess weight gain
3 overweight and obesity in Florida by implementing appropriate
4 physical activity and nutrition programs that are directed
5 towards target all Floridians by:
6 (a) Using all appropriate media to promote maximum
7 public awareness of the latest research on healthy lifestyles
8 and chronic diseases and disseminating relevant information
9 through a statewide clearinghouse relating to wellness,
10 physical activity, and nutrition and their impact on chronic
11 diseases and disabling conditions.
12 (b) Providing technical assistance, training, and
13 resources on healthy lifestyles and chronic diseases to the
14 public, county health departments, health care providers,
15 school districts, and other persons or entities, including
16 faith-based organizations, which that request such assistance
17 to promote physical activity, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle
18 programs.
19 (c) Developing, implementing, and using all available
20 research methods to collect data, including, but not limited
21 to, population-specific data, and track the incidence and
22 effects of weight gain, obesity, and related chronic diseases.
23 The department shall include an evaluation and data collection
24 component in all programs as appropriate.
25 (d) Partnering with the Department of Education, local
26 communities, school districts, and other entities to encourage
27 Florida schools to promote activities during and after school
28 to help students meet a minimum goal of 60 minutes of activity
29 per day.
30 (e) Partnering with the Department of Education,
31 school districts, and the Florida Sports Foundation to develop
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1324
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1 a program that recognizes schools whose students demonstrate
2 excellent physical fitness or fitness improvement.
3 (f) Collaborating with other state agencies to develop
4 policies and strategies for preventing obesity, which shall be
5 incorporated into programs administered by each agency and
6 shall include promoting healthy lifestyles of employees of
7 each agency.
8 (g) Advising, in accordance with s. 456.081, health
9 care practitioners licensed in this state regarding the
10 morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with the conditions
11 of being overweight or obese, informing such practitioners of
12 clinical best practices for preventing obesity, and
13 encouraging practitioners to counsel their patients regarding
14 the adoption of healthy lifestyles.
15 (h)(f) Maximizing all local, state, and federal
16 funding sources, including grants, public-private
17 partnerships, and other mechanisms, to strengthen the
18 department's current physical activity and nutrition programs
19 and to enhance similar county health department programs.
20 Section 2. The sum of $_______ is appropriated from
21 the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Health for the
22 purpose of implementing s. 381.0054, Florida Statutes, during
23 the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
24 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1324
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Requires the Department of Health to collaborate with
other state agencies to develop policies and strategies
4 for incorporation into their programs to prevent obesity.
Requires the department to advise health care
5 practitioners regarding morbidity, mortality, and costs
associated with the conditions of being overweight or
6 obese. Requires the department to inform health care
practitioners about best practices for obesity prevention
7 and to encourage practitioners to counsel their patients
regarding the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Provides an
8 appropriation.
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