HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

24

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

Requesting the Department of Education AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO COORDINATE EFFORTS TO plan and develop a surveillance system for tracking childhood obesity data and implementing "best practices" prevention and treatment intervention programs to reduce childhood obesity.

 

WHEREAS, the number of overweight children in the United States has doubled in the past 30 years, with similar patterns occurring in Hawaii, and with some communities and populations in Hawaii having childhood obesity rates twice the national average for children age six to eleven years old; and

WHEREAS, obesity in childhood, particularly adolescence, is a predictor for obesity in adulthood, and certain health-related behaviors established in youth -- unhealthy eating and inadequate physical activity -- contribute to adult obesity and related health conditions; and

WHEREAS, insufficient research has been conducted on childhood obesity in Hawaii and many gaps exist in the data that has been collected on obesity in childhood; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education (DOE) has access to health data on children in the public school system that can potentially be an avenue for learning more about prevalence rates and characteristics of childhood obesity in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health (DOH) is the most logical agency to engage in research, information gathering, and reviewing studies on the prevalence and characteristics of childhood obesity in the state and evidence-based and culturally appropriate treatment and prevention programs for childhood obesity; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body requests DOE to:

(1) Plan and develop a childhood data and surveillance system to track the body mass index of children, that includes the height, weight, birth date, and sex of a child each time the child transfers to another public school; and

(2) Record the date of the transfer and the ethnicity of the child;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE is requested to allow DOH access to the data gathered, provided that the data is anonymized, complies with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Education Rights and Privacy Act, and is used strictly for public health purposes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOH is requested to support, collect, and review available research and data on evidence-based and culturally appropriate prevention and treatment interventions for childhood obesity and, based upon such study, recommend to DOE "best practices" prevention and treatment intervention programs to reduce prevalence rates for childhood obesity in the state; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE is requested to support and provide evidence-based prevention and interventions in public schools, based upon DOH's recommendations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, and Director of Health.

Report Title:

Childhood Obesity Data and Research