The Children’s Caucus announced the creation of its Congressional Task Force on Childhood Obesity, a bipartisan team of House of Representatives Members. The task force will be led by founder Representative Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH11) and Representatives Patrick Tiberi (R-OH12), Ron Kind (D-WI03), and Dave Reichert (R-WA08). Its mission is to work collaboratively in raising awareness of and developing solutions for childhood obesity.
“For the first time in history, life spans may be shorter for children than their parents’. If we don’t begin to look at new methods to lower the rate of childhood obesity, we will be doing a disservice to an entire generation. This task force allows sharing of ideas and collaboration across party lines on this critical issue,” stated Rep. Fudge.
Over the next 6-12 months, the task force will host a series of briefings and events with national organizations to educate members, congressional staffers, and the public on the multifaceted ways to address childhood obesity.
“The task force will work to increase awareness and knowledge among children and families about the importance of the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight and enjoying physical activity,” said Rep. Tiberi. “I am proud to be a co-chair of the task force and look forward to working together to raise awareness and encourage responsible and informed choices.”
The task force will promote collaboration within and among different sectors, including education, environment, industry, media, government, and public and private health care, and encourage action to decrease childhood obesity nationwide.
“I’m proud to be part of a task force that is so important to our children’s future,” said Rep. Kind. “In order to develop healthy minds, our children need healthy bodies. To do this, we must work to ensure that kids are living active lifestyles and learning healthy habits at an early age. We can do this through increased nutrition and physical education in our schools and realigning our built environment to make sure children are able to safely play outside. I look forward to working with my colleagues in this group to get kids on a healthy path and combat childhood obesity.”
By localizing its effort through broad outreach, the task force hopes to reinforce the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritious food, and engaging in regular physical activity.
“Good health is critical to our children’s success in whatever they want to achieve,” Rep. Reichert said. “I am proud to be part of this effort to bring awareness to the issue of childhood obesity. It’s so important that we work together to strengthen our children’s future by promoting healthy habits early in life, creating a healthy foundation for children across the country.”
For more information on the Congressional Task Force on Childhood Obesity, contact LaDavia Drane at LaDavia.Drane@mail.house.gov.
Mission Statement: The Congressional Task Force on Childhood Obesity, a bipartisan team of United States House of Representatives members, will work collaboratively to raise awareness about the epidemic of childhood obesity and its impact on the health of future generations; encourage active participation by congress and the president in the effort to decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity and increase preventative measures, and promote policies that educate the public with a specific focus on the needs of children and youth.