LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim March 2016, as Nutrition Month in the State of New York, in
conjunction with the observance of National Nutrition Month

WHEREAS, Nearly one in five children are diagnosed as obese annually at
or before they reach two years of age according to the Center for
Disease Control and it is at that stage of life that a child is learning
the type of food and how much food to consume; and
WHEREAS, Childhood obesity is a national epidemic that has almost
tripled since the 1980s in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Obesity accounts for more than 300,000 deaths per year and
the annual cost to society for obesity is an estimated $100 billion
according to the Center for Disease Control; and
WHEREAS, The New York University Child Study Center has determined
that if a parent is obese there is a fifty percent chance that the child
will be obese, and if both parents are obese, then there is an eighty
percent chance that the child will be obese; and
WHEREAS, Early intervention can help detect the magnitude of a child's
obesity and minimize the occurrence of diseases such as Type II Diabetes
which increase the risk of heart disease, eye complications, and kidney
conditions; and
WHEREAS, First Lady Michelle Obama is leading a national effort to
fight childhood obesity by providing parents with information regarding
healthier lifestyles for their children, support to ensure that their
children are receiving the proper nutrients, ensuring that schools are
providing students with healthy foods, and helping children partake in
regular physical activity; and
WHEREAS, The New York State Department of Health launched the
Activ8kids program in 2005 to help fight childhood obesity and support
healthy lifestyles among children, in which children are involved in
daily regimens of physical exercise and healthy food choices to help
improve their health; and
WHEREAS, The month of March is National Nutrition Month and consists
of a campaign that focuses on the importance of helping children and
teens make healthy food choices and promote physical activity; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 2016, as Nutri-
tion Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance
of National Nutrition Month; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.