Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 13–Senators Wiener, Cegavske, Titus, Rawson, Care, Mathews, Raggio and Washington

 

March 4, 2003

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Referred to Committee on Legislative Affairs and Operations

 

SUMMARY—Directs Legislative Commission to conduct interim study concerning economic, medical and societal costs and impacts of obesity in Nevada. (BDR R‑25)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Directing the Legislative Commission to conduct an interim study concerning the economic, medical and societal costs and impacts of obesity in Nevada.

 

1-1  Whereas, Obesity manifests itself as one of our nation’s most

1-2  significant public health concerns as proven by recent statistics from

1-3  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which reveal that in

1-4  the United States, approximately 38.8 million adults, 19.8 percent of

1-5  adults in the United States, are classified as obese, and an estimated

1-6  9 million children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 19

1-7  years, 15 percent of that age group, are categorized as overweight;

1-8  and

1-9  Whereas, These statistics represent such an extremely rapid

1-10  rise of obesity in our society over the last decade that members of

1-11  the medical profession attach the word “epidemic” to the problem, a

1-12  word usually reserved for massive outbreaks of infectious disease;

1-13  and

1-14      Whereas, Obesity is a chronic disease, and studies show that

1-15  about one half of children who are overweight by the time they are 6

1-16  or 7 years of age remain overweight as adults and 75 percent of

1-17  adolescents who are overweight will remain overweight as adults;

1-18  and

1-19      Whereas, Research has established that there is a direct causal

1-20  relationship between obesity and heart disease, hypertension, stroke,

1-21  elevated cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, arthritis,

2-1  breathing problems, gout, and forms of cancer such as uterine,

2-2  cervical, ovarian, breast, gallbladder, colorectal and prostate; and

2-3  Whereas, Statistics for the year 2000 from the Centers for

2-4  Disease Control and Prevention disclose that 4,089 deaths in

2-5  Nevada were the result of heart disease and that 3,763 deaths were

2-6  caused by cancer, and obesity almost assuredly played a role in

2-7  many of these deaths; and

2-8  Whereas, Not only does obesity affect physical health, but

2-9  obese persons may also experience low self-esteem, social

2-10  stigmatism, discrimination, poor body image and increased risk of

2-11  emotional problems, and disorders such as chronic depression,

2-12  anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder have commonly been

2-13  linked to obesity; and

2-14      Whereas, According to The Surgeon General’s Call to Action

2-15  to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, issued in 2001,

2-16  an estimated 300,000 people die each year from illnesses directly

2-17  caused or worsened by being overweight, a fact that prompted

2-18  former Surgeon General David Satcher to warn that obesity may

2-19  soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in

2-20  America; and

2-21      Whereas, In 2000, the total economic costs of this epidemic in

2-22  the United States rose to an estimated $117 billion per year,

2-23  consisting of $61 billion in direct costs for preventive, diagnostic

2-24  and treatment services for medical care and $56 billion in losses

2-25  relating to productivity in the workforce and the value of future

2-26  earnings lost by premature death; and

2-27      Whereas, Such costs definitely constitute a governmental issue

2-28  because the government pays for a portion of the costs related to

2-29  health care and certainly has a stake in the loss of productivity in the

2-30  workforce; and

2-31      Whereas, In addition to these medical costs and losses in

2-32  productivity, the 33 to 40 percent of women and 20 to 24 percent of

2-33  men in this nation who are attempting to lose weight spend $33

2-34  billion a year on weight-reduction products and services; and

2-35      Whereas, There is a compelling need for an aggressive

2-36  program of prevention and treatment because the direct and indirect

2-37  costs resulting from obesity are expected to increase rapidly as the

2-38  problem worsens and because the prevention and amelioration of

2-39  obesity could have a significantly positive impact on health care

2-40  costs in this state; and

2-41      Whereas, The problem of obesity must not be considered only

2-42  a personal responsibility but a responsibility which is shared by the

2-43  community and which must be addressed by the community in the

2-44  same way as problems with alcohol, substance abuse and tobacco

2-45  have been addressed; and

3-1  Whereas, Conquering the problem of obesity must begin with

3-2  the process of accumulating sound scientific data as a foundation for

3-3  fostering awareness of the role that genetics, behavior and

3-4  environment play in obesity and finding solutions to improve the

3-5  quality of life; now, therefore, be it

3-6  Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

3-7  Assembly Concurring, That the Legislative Commission is

3-8  hereby directed to appoint an interim committee, composed of three

3-9  members of the Assembly and three members of the Senate, one of

3-10  whom must be appointed as Chair of the committee, to conduct a

3-11  study of the economic, medical and societal costs and impacts of

3-12  obesity on the State of Nevada; and be it further

3-13      Resolved, That the Chair of the committee may appoint an

3-14  advisory committee of not more than three persons, who are not

3-15  Legislators and are nonvoting members, who are knowledgeable in

3-16  the areas of the study, to consult with and to assist in conducting the

3-17  study; and be it further

3-18      Resolved, That the study must include, without limitation:

3-19      1.  An analysis of available information relating to the

3-20  economic, medical and societal costs and impacts of obesity on

3-21  Nevadans;

3-22      2.  An analysis of the fiscal impact of obesity on health care

3-23  costs and productivity in Nevada and a determination of possible

3-24  savings in health care costs resulting from the prevention and proper

3-25  treatment of obesity;

3-26      3.  The identification of existing resources in Nevada that may

3-27  be available for use in programs relating to obesity;

3-28      4.  Recommendations for specific programs aimed at the

3-29  prevention of and intervention in obesity;

3-30      5.  The identification of programs and practices that have been

3-31  established in Nevada and other states which are cost-effective and

3-32  could be implemented throughout Nevada;

3-33      6.  Recommendations for coalitions between the public and

3-34  private sectors that could be instituted in communities;

3-35      7.  Recommendations for programs to increase public

3-36  awareness regarding the causes, prevention, risks and treatment of

3-37  obesity;

3-38      8.  An examination of the particular effects of the 24-hour

3-39  lifestyle and transient nature of some of the population of this state

3-40  on obesity;

3-41      9.  An evaluation of the current health standards in Nevada that

3-42  may have an influence on obesity and an assessment of the progress

3-43  toward treating obesity in states that establish and monitor such

3-44  standards; and

4-1  10.  Any other proposals for legislation relating to health care

4-2  for obesity that the committee may receive or develop; and be it

4-3  further

4-4  Resolved, That any recommended legislation proposed by the

4-5  committee must be approved by a majority of the members of the

4-6  Senate and a majority of the members of the Assembly appointed to

4-7  the committee; and be it further

4-8  Resolved, That the Legislative Commission shall submit a

4-9  report of the results of the study and any recommendations for

4-10  legislation to the 73rd Session of the Nevada Legislature.

 

4-11  H