text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Lifelong Improvements in Food and 
  Exercise (LIFE) Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds as follows:
              (1) Currently, 64.5 percent of adults in the United States, 
          age 20 years and older, are overweight and 30.5 percent of them 
          are obese.
              (2) Data from two National Health and Nutrition Examination 
          Surveys show that among adults aged 20-74 years the prevalence 
          of obesity increased from 15.0 percent in the 1976-1980 survey 
          to 32.9 percent in the 2003-2004 survey.
              (3) 50 percent of women aged 20 to 74 are overweight or 
          obese in the United States according to the National Women's 
          Health Information Center.
              (4) In 2003-04, of children and adolescents 2-19 years of 
          age more than 12,500,000 (or 17.1 percent) were overweight, and 
          of adults more than 66,000,000 (or 32.2 percent) were obese. 
          Almost 5 percent of adults were extremely obese.
              (5) The percentage of children who are overweight has more 
          than doubled, and among adolescents the rates have more than 
          tripled, since 1980 increasing from 5 percent to 17.1 percent.
              (6) More than 50 percent of adults in the United States do 
          not get enough physical activity and national data have shown 
          an increase in the calorie consumption of adults.
              (7) About two-thirds of young people in grades 9-12 are not 
          engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. Daily 
          participation in high school physical education classes dropped 
          from 42 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2005.
              (8) The rising rates of obesity portend greater disease and 
          health conditions including hypertension, high total 
          cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, 
          gallbladder disease, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, and respiratory 
          problems, and some cancers, such as endometrial, breast, and 
          colon cancer.
              (9) Many underlying factors have been linked to the 
          increase in obesity, such as increasing portion sizes, eating 
          out more often, increased consumption of sugar-sweetened 
          drinks, increasing television, computer, and electronic gaming 
          time, changing labor markets, and fear of crime, which prevents 
          outdoor exercise.
              (10) Chronic diseases account for 1.7 million, or 70 
          percent, of all deaths in the United States each year. Although 
          chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health 
          problems, they are also among the most preventable. Adopting a 
          healthy lifestyle such as eating nutritious foods and engaging 
          in physical activity, can prevent or control the devastating 
          effects of these diseases. Although chronic diseases are among 
          the most common and costly health problems, they are also among 
          the most preventable.
              (11) According to the Surgeon General's Call to Action to 
          Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, the cost of 
          obesity in the United States in 2000 was more than $117 
          billion.
  
  SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN PREVALENCE OF OBESITY; PROGRAM FOR LIFELONG 
                IMPROVEMENTS IN FOOD AND EXERCISE.
  
      Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
  et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317S the following 
  section:
  
                    ``reduction in prevalence of obesity
  
      ``Sec. 317T.  (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the 
  Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall carry 
  out a national program to conduct and support activities regarding 
  individuals who are overweight or obese in order to make progress 
  toward the goal of significantly reducing the number of cases of 
  obesity among individuals in the United States.
      ``(b) Certain Activities.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
  Secretary shall (directly or through grants or contracts) carry out the 
  following with respect to individuals who are overweight:
              ``(1) Activities to train health professionals to recognize 
          that patients are overweight and to recommend prevention 
          activities regarding such condition, including educating 
          patients on the relationship between such condition and 
          cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health conditions, 
          and on proper nutrition and regular physical activities.
              ``(2) Activities to educate the public with respect to the 
          condition of being overweight, including the development of a 
          strategy for a public awareness campaign.
              ``(3) The development and demonstration of intervention 
          strategies for use at worksites and in community settings such 
          as hospitals and community health centers.
      ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
  out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 
  for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
  fiscal years 2010 through 2013.''.
target: Lifelong Improvements in Food and Exercise (LIFE) Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to carry out a national program to conduct and support activities regarding individuals who are overweight or obese in order to make progress toward the goal of significantly reducing obesity in the United States. Requires such activities to include: (1) training health professionals; (2) educating the public; and (3) developing and demonstrating intervention strategies for use at worksites and in community settings.
feat_title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national program to conduct and support activities toward the goal of significantly reducing the number of cases of overweight and obesity among individuals in the United States.