2015
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 15-1025
       
       BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Fields and Tate, Arndt, Buck, Conti,
       Court, Dore, Esgar, Foote, Garnett, Ginal, Hamner, Keyser,
       Landgraf, Lebsock, Lee, Lontine, McCann, Melton, Mitsch Bush,
       Pettersen, Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Rosenthal, Ryden, Salazar,
       Sias, Singer, Thurlow, Tyler, Wilson, Windholz, Winter, Young,
       Becker J., Becker K., Brown, Carver, Coram, Danielson, DelGrosso,
       Duran, Everett, Humphrey, Joshi, Kagan, Klingenschmitt,
       Kraft-Tharp, Lawrence, Lundeen, Moreno, Navarro, Neville P.,
       Nordberg, Pabon, Ransom, Roupe, Saine, Van Winkle, Vigil, Willett,
       Williams, Hullinghorst;
       also SENATOR(S) Kerr, Kefalas, Merrifield, Newell, Steadman,
       Todd.
       
      CONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF MAY 1 AS 
             "CHILDREN'S HEALTH DAY". 
       
          WHEREAS, Good health lays the groundwork for success in many
       areas of a child's life; and
       
          WHEREAS, When children are healthy - physically, mentally, and
       socially - they are more likely to enter school ready to learn, they miss
       fewer days of school, and they have the energy and focus to pay attention
       in the classroom; and
       
          WHEREAS, The World Health Organization says that children should
       eat no more than 24 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day, but
       children are eating an average of 130 grams (over 30 teaspoons) per day,
       leading to one in three children now having diabetes; and
       
          WHEREAS, About one in four Colorado children is estimated to be
       overweight or obese; and
       
          
       
       
          WHEREAS, An estimated 270,000 children (about 22% of all
       children) were living in households experiencing hunger in 2009, an 86%
       increase since 2002; and
       
          WHEREAS, Two of three children exercise 20 minutes or less, four
       times or less per week, nowhere near the recommended one hour per day
       of exercise for all kids; and
       
          WHEREAS, There is a link between hunger and obesity, and access
       to fresh produce and lean meats is often limited in low-income
       neighborhoods; and
       
          WHEREAS, Low-cost foods tend to be more highly processed and
       calorie-dense than more expensive foods and may not provide children
       with the vitamins and nutrients their brains and bodies need to develop
       healthily; and
       
          WHEREAS, On average, between 2010 and 2012, 35% of Colorado
       families with children between the ages of 1 and 14 reported that they
       often or sometimes relied on low-cost foods to feed their family due to
       limited resources; and
       
          WHEREAS, Ensuring that all kids have access to adequate healthy
       food and safe places to exercise and play is essential to ending both
       hunger and obesity in Colorado's kids; and
       
          WHEREAS, 153,000 children, or about one in eight children (12.2%),
       in Colorado do not have health insurance; and
       
          WHEREAS, According to the Children's Campaign 2010 survey of
       the nutrition, physical activity, and Physical Education (P.E.) policies of
       23 of Colorado's largest school districts, representing about 79% of all
       Colorado students in public schools:
               Only four of the 23 districts require that all school snacks for all
               students meet nutritional standards; 
               Only four of the districts require P.E. for elementary and middle
               school students; and
               Colorado is one of the only two states that do not require P.E.
               courses; and
       
          WHEREAS, Colorado is the leanest state in the nation for adults, but
       Colorado children dropped in ranking from 3rd to 23rd leanest in the
       nation between 2003 and 2007; and
       
          WHEREAS, Between 2003 and 2007, the number of obese 10- to
       17-year-olds rose from 48,000 to 72,000; and
       
          WHEREAS, Gov. John W. Hickenlooper stated on March 24, 2014,
       "There is nothing more important to Colorado's future than the success of
       our children and our ability to capitalize on the opportunities of our future
       workforce leaders, parents, and citizens"; and
       
          WHEREAS, On opening day of the 2014 Colorado legislative session,
       43 students from Indian Ridge Elementary School presented a proposal
       to Representatives Fields, Rosenthal, and Lee and Senator Johnston and
       sent a letter to U.S. Senator Udall requesting the formation of a
       Commission on Childhood Wellness and Obesity Prevention; and
       
          WHEREAS, The Project Citizen Team of Indian Ridge Elementary
       asked the Colorado legislature to:
               Provide a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of sugar and
               require manufacturers to show a percentage of RDA on the
               nutrition labels of all food packaging;
               Provide a list of the types of sugar and sugar substitutes on
               nutrition labels;
               Put color-coded picture warning labels on drinks containing sugar;
               and
               Tax soft drinks and other sugary drinks to fund wide-scale
               nutrition education; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventieth
       General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:
          
          That we, the General Assembly:
       
          (1)  Support the promotion of health for Colorado children by
       designating May 1, 2015, as "Children's Health Day";
       
          
       
          (2)  Believe that providing children in child care, school, and
       community settings with nutritious foods and plenty of opportunities for
       vigorous exercise are important steps to giving children a healthy start in
       life; and
       
          (3)  Encourage schools, health professionals, and organizations to
       design activities and educational programs on "Children's Health Day"
       that meet the needs of individual communities.
       
          Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to
       Bill Jaeger, Vice President, Colorado Children's Campaign; Dr. Jandel T.
       Allen-Davis, Vice President of Government and External Relations,
       Kaiser Permanente; Ellen Steiner, Policy Coordinator at Colorado
       Children's Hospital; Sue Coughlin, Senior Vice President of
       Development, Colorado Public Radio; Dr. Richard J. Johnson, Professor
       in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz
       Medical Campus; Dr. James Hill, Director of the Center for Human
       Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; and Dr.
       Stephen R. Daniels, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the
       University of Colorado School of Medicine, Children's Hospital
       Colorado.
       
       
       
       _________________________________________________________
       Dickey Lee Hullinghorst               Bill L. Cadman
       SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE                    PRESIDENT OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Marilyn Eddins                     Cindi L. Markwell
       CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE                SECRETARY OF
       OF REPRESENTATIVES                        THE SENATE