Good morning. My name is Dr. Rick Leary and I am a family physician from Oak Park. Iím here today representing the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and its 4,500 members. We are pleased to support House Minority Leader Tom Crossí proposed legislation for Child Nutritional Health and Well Being.

As family physicians, we see children as well as adults and the elderly in our offices every day. Todayís children will be the elderly patients of tomorrowó and itís our goal that they stay healthy throughout their lives. This proposal is a good start to a healthier finish.

Currently over 300,000 deaths annually in the United States are attributed to obesity. That ranks second only to smoking in preventable deaths. This translates into an economic burden as well. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the total direct and indirect cost associated with obesity in the United States is more than 117 billion dollars! The prevalence of overweight children has rapidly reached epidemic proportions. We must all take some responsibility to ensure that our children thrive from good nutrition and enough exercise.

The American Academy of Family Physicians unveiled a new program in the fall called "Americans in Motion," or AIM, to combat the serious health epidemic of obesity. The mission of AIM is to improve the health of all Americans by implementing a multifaceted fitness program addressing physical activity, nutrition, and emotional well-being in the individual, family and community. And interestingly, AAFP is encouraging its physicians to take the first steps in this program and be role models for patients in the "battle of the bulge."

AAFP and the IAFP have both developed educational tools for physicians to better help their patients with this battle.

Another important program is the Active Lifestyle Program of the US Presidentís Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which urges citizens to participate in at least 30 minutes of activity five days a week for six consecutive weeks.

It is important we educate families about these programs, as well as the medical complications and long-term risks of obesity. It takes courage for a person to fight obesity - and the entire family must adopt permanent lifestyle changes. This is not easy, but it can be accomplished.

Our primary goal should be achieving healthy eating and physical activity habits rather than attaining some "ideal" body weight. We must get away from the mindset of temporary diet fixes and focus on nutrition, health and fitness. If a child forms healthy eating habits and a love for exercise early on, that child will hopefully continue those habits into adulthood.

Self-esteem and self-acceptance are also issues of particular importance when considering the implications of obesity. Encouraging health and well-being in children can go a long way in improving their self-esteem.

And adults need help too. More than 60 percent of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with increased illness and death, including ailments such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, obstructive sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, stroke, gallstones and gout.

The relationship between extreme obesity and diabetes is especially strong. Results of studies have determined the excess risk of diabetes associated with a Body Mass Index of more than 35 to be between eight to 30 times that of persons of normal weight. Up to thirty times more likely to develop diabetes! That is a statistic that cannot be ignored.

Obesity should be recognized as a disease: an illness for which prevention, diagnosis and treatment would be covered by insurers. Insurance companies are already covering the disastrous effects obesity has on a personís healthówhy not work to prevent obesity in the first place?

Minority Leader Crossí proposal calls for many changes that will benefit our children. Foods that are nutrient rich and low in added sugars and fat should to be readily available to parents, school and child care food services, and others responsible for feeding children. The increase in consumption of carbonated beverages has been linked to obesity, so these beverages should not be promoted at school.

We do have the ability to help turn the tide of this epidemic. We applaud House Minority Leader Cross for his vision and determination to bring this issue to the forefront and improve the health of our children.