Brownback Applauds Launch of Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded the launch of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. The foundation will focus on reducing obesity in Kansas and the nation.

“I am proud to support the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation,” said Brownback. “By lending a voice to one of the most pressing health care issues, the HWCF will provide positive contributions to the national dialogue on reducing obesity while promoting healthier living in America.”

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is a coalition of representatives from food and beverage manufacturers, retail stores and non-government organizations. In an effort to foster healthy lifestyles in children, the Healthy Schools Partnership integrates nutrition education and physical education through a school-based curriculum. The program will expand to additional schools in the Overland Park, Kansas, as well as in Kansas City, Missouri, and several other cities across the nation.

Brownback continued, “Kansas is focusing more on the prevention of childhood obesity, and I applaud the HWCF for beginning demonstration projects in Kansas.”

American obesity rates have increased 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, with the average adult 23 pounds overweight; collectively, adults in the U.S. are 4.6 billion pounds overweight. Approximately 12 million children and adolescents are obese.