Burchett/ 3 Senator Pittam

S.R._____

A BILL
To create incentives for the states to improve their nutritional and physical education in elementary schools.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Pittam Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.
2) Overweight and obesity are the result of caloric imbalancetoo few calories expended for the amount
of calories consumedand are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.
3) 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools and 2 percent of high schools provide daily
physical education for all students.
4) Almost 112,000 annual deaths are attributable to obesity.
5) 15% percent of children aged six to 19 are considered overweight.
6) In a sample of 5-to 17-year-olds, almost 60% of overweight children had at least one CVD risk factor
and 25% of overweight children had two or more CVD risk factors.
7) 11.7% of elementary schools offered brand-name fast foods from companies such as Pizza Hut, Taco
Bell, or Subway.
8) Nearly 17% of U.S. medical costs are attributed to the treatment of obesity and estimates
for treatment of childhood obesity are approximately $14.3 billion.
9) Around 15,000 potential recruits fail their physicals every year because they are too heavy.
10) Childrens physical activity level drops dramatically between the ages of 9 and 15.
11) 95% of parents believe physical education should be part of a school curriculum for all
students in grades K-12.
12) Childrens physical activity levels drop dramatically between the ages of 9 and 15.
13)Only 6% of elementary school students and 2% of middle and high school students are in a district with
a wellness policy that adheres to the recommended weekly amounts of physical education.
14) ACS CAN, ADA, AHA and many other national groups recommend 150 minutes of physical education
each week for children in elementary schools.
15) Approximately 75% of schools require nutrition education as part of health curriculum.
16) Obesity prevalence differs among racial/ethnic groups and also varies by age, sex, and adult head of
households and education level.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) All schools that adopt a ten hour minimum a week physical education course and nutritional education
course will receive federal funding and supplemental educational resources. Courses are to be offered in
one hour block minimums, one of which must contain physical education and the second of which must
consist of nutritional education resulting in a two hour daily minimum.
B) This law shall be enforced and upheld by the United States Department of Education. Funding for
additional training in physical and nutritional education shall be subsidized to each individual state, then
distributed by the state to individual schools. This funding will come from fast food taxes.
C) Any school found not adhering to this law will lose funding and training, along with resources aiding in
education. This law shall go into effect January 1, 2017.