Human Services Committee

Filed: 3/10/2005

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 249

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 249 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Menu
5 Education and Labeling Act of 2004.
 
6     Section 5. Legislative findings.
7     (a) Research continues to reveal the strong link between
8 diet and health, and that diet related diseases start early in
9 life.
10     (b) Increased caloric intake is a key factor contributing
11 to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States.
12 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
13 two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and the
14 rates of obesity have doubled in children and tripled in teens
15 since 1980. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart
16 disease, stroke, and other health problems. Each year obesity
17 costs families, businesses, and the government $117 billion.
18     (c) Excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor for
19 heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the
20 United States. While it is often thought to primarily affect
21 men and older people, cardiovascular disease is the leading
22 killer of women and kills 61,000 people between the ages of 45
23 and 64 each year. Heart disease is also a leading cause of
24 disability among working adults and its impact on the U.S.

 

 

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1 economy is significant, estimated in 2004 to cost $368 billion
2 in health care expenditures and lost productivity.
3     (d) Increased sodium intake is associated with increased
4 risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that
5 can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. The
6 proportion of Americans with high blood pressure is 45% at age
7 50, 60% at age 60, and over 70% at age 70.
8     (e) Over the past two decades there has been a significant
9 increase in the number of meals prepared and eaten outside the
10 home, with an estimated one-third of calories and almost half
11 (46%) of total food dollars being spent on food purchased from
12 and eaten at restaurants and other food-service
13 establishments.
14     (f) While nutrition labeling is currently required on most
15 processed foods, such information is required only for
16 restaurant foods for which nutrient content or health claims
17 are made.
18     (g) Three-quarters of American adults report using food
19 labels on packaged foods, which are required by the federal
20 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Using food labels
21 is associated with eating a more healthy diet, and
22 approximately half (48%) of people report that the nutrition
23 information on food labels has caused them to change their
24 minds about buying a food product.
25     (h) It is difficult for consumers to limit their intake of
26 calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of
27 nutrition information, as well as the popular practice by many
28 restaurants of providing foods in larger-than-standard
29 servings and super-sized portions. Studies show that people eat
30 greater quantities of food when they are served more.
 
31     Section 10. Nutritional label information. Restaurants and
32 similar retail food establishments shall post a sign no smaller
33 than eight inches by five inches stating that "Certain foods on

 

 

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1 the menu may be high in calories, grams of saturated fat plus
2 trans fat, and milligrams of sodium per serving which has been
3 known to cause diabetes, heart disease, and high blood
4 pressure."".