Full Text of HB0249 94th General Assembly
HB0249ham001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Human Services Committee
Filed: 3/10/2005
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 249
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 249 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "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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| 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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| 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."".
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