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Michigan
House GOP To Lead Task Force on Child Obesity
Gongwer News Service, December 20, 2005
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A task force
made up of six House Republican members plan to meet statewide
in the coming year to bring awareness and gather ideas on how to
combat child obesity.
"As a parent of two kids and a registered dietician for more
than 20 years, I am deeply concerned about the health of our
children," said Rep. Leslie Mortimer (R-Horton) as she made the
task force announcement Tuesday. "Children spend a lot of time
playing computer games, watching television and eating fatty
snacks, instead of playing outside and eating nutritious meals."
The task force will consist of Reps. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair),
Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale), Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Twp.), Dave
Robertson (R-Grand Blanc) and Barb Vander Veen (R-Allendale).
While legislation has been introduced in the House that would
require schools to report the body mass index of its students to
parents, Ms. Mortimer said the bill's good intentions are
overruled by the need for more thorough discussions.
While legislation might not be the end result of the task force,
Ms. Mortimer said that in talking to school officials and
students, they should be able to bring awareness to the issue
and hopefully move toward providing kids a healthier living
environment.
Statistics show that obesity rates in preschoolers and
adolescents has more than doubled over the past 30 years and has
more than tripled in children ages six to 11 over that same time
period.
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