Dear Senator/Representative Lee:
I am writing to urge you to support H.B. 855, which would require all public school students in the United States, from kindergarten to 12th grade, to get 60 minutes of physical activity per day, either through a physical education class or a team sport. I am currently a college student at UH, which is located in the district that you represent. My passion for this legislation stems from my belief that the purpose of public education is to prepare students for future success. Therefore, it is essential to teach students what they need to know to stay healthy and active throughout their lives. When I was in school, I had physical education three times per week. I believe that it was helpful, but it was not enough. Now that I am older, I have learned that consistency is crucial to maintaining fitness, and I wish I had developed daily exercise habits before I graduated from high school. Looking down at the younger generation of children in Texas schools today, I want them to have the opportunity to start establishing healthy exercise habits as soon as possible in their lives.
Passing this bill is also important from a public health perspective. Currently, childhood obesity is one of the most significant public health challenges facing the United States. Even though the incidence of obesity among preschool-aged children as decreased in the last few years, the problem still affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents: about 17 percent of the population between the ages of 2 and 19. The proportion is even higher for K-12 students: about 17.5 percent for 6- to 11-year-olds and 20.5 percent for 12- to 19-year-olds. These children face a wide range of health problems, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and sleep apnea, among others. Childhood obesity can also negatively impact mental health, putting children at risk of experiencing symptoms of depression or developing eating disorders. Plus, children who are obese are at much higher risk of being obese during adulthood. It is time to take action to support the physical and mental health of our children, and requiring physical activity in school is a great way to help children develop and maintain healthy exercise habits that can prevent or reduce the effects of childhood obesity. Studies show that any type of physical activity can lead to positive adaptations to childhood obesity, including cellular homeostasis restoration, improvements in body composition, and increased metabolic activity, so physical activity in schools is a logical way to fight the epidemic. Moreover, childhood obesity is currently placing an undue burden on the country’s already-strained healthcare system. Right now, obesity and obesity-related health conditions account for 21 percent of medical spending each year ($190.2 billion) in the United States, and childhood obesity alone is responsibility for $14 billion in direct medical spending. According to one estimate, the lifetime direct medicals costs for a 10-year-old obese child are between $12,660 and $19,630 higher than for a normal weight 10-year-old child who maintain a healthy weight throughout their life. By reducing childhood obesity and preventing adult obesity, this bill could help lower the country’s healthcare costs, which has long been a bipartisan goal in Congress.
Due to the benefits that H.B. 855 will have for children around the country and for society as a whole, my support for the legislation is unwavering. I urge you to stand with Representative Berg and other supporters and vote in favor of the bill. By helping our children develop healthy exercise habits, this bill has the potential to lower medical spending and protect and improve our children’s physical and mental health throughout their lives.
Sincerely,
Your Name Typed
- Childhood obesity facts. (2017). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
- Childhood overweight. (2017). The Obesity Society. Retrieved from http://www.obesity.org/obesity/resources/facts-about-obesity/childhood-overweight
- Economic costs of obesity. (n.d.). National League of Cities. Retrieved from http://www.healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org/learn-the-facts/economic-costs-of-obesity/
- Finkelstein, E.A., Graham, W.C.K., & Malhotra, R. (2014). Lifetime direct medical costs of childhood obesity. Pediatrics, 133(5). Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/133/5/854
- Paes, S.T., Marins, J.C.B., & Andreazzi, A.E. (2015). Revista Pualista de Pediatria, 33(1). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4436964/
