Proclaim March Nutrition Month

Senate Resolution No. 2381 BY: Senator RIVERA LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 2020, as Nutrition Month in the State of New York WHEREAS, Nutrition month was created to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits; and WHEREAS, The National Nutrition Month 2020 theme - Eat Right, Bite by Bite - is designed to be fun, positive, and kid friendly, as well as inclusive of and adaptable for all eating patterns and cultures; and 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 approximately 374,239 deaths per year and the annual cost to society for obesity is an estimated $327 billion according to the American Diabetes Association; 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, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics strives 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 2020, as Nutrition 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 transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.