* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Mosby
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - Sugar Free Kids
FOR the purpose of inviting members of the Sugar Free Kids coalition to appear before the Council to discuss the effects that sugar has on our children, as well as ways that these effects can be reduced and mitigated to ensure a healthy future for all of Baltimore's children.
body
Recitals
Although we all want our children, and kids throughout Maryland, to be healthy, roughly 1in 3 Maryland kids is overweight or obese, causing them to be less healthy than they should be. In fact, more kids than ever are being diagnosed with adult like diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure.
More than any other single factor, regularly consuming sugary drinks greatly increases the risk that a kid will be overweight or obese or develop type 2 diabetes as a child. Kids who drink sugary drinks daily are 3 times more likely to be overweight or obese and 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than their peers who don�t drink sugary drinks.
These sugary drinks are a leading contributor to what has already become a genuine public health crisis that desperately needs to be addressed. If we don�t make some changes, this will be the first generation of kids that will live shorter lives than their parents.
Sugar Free Kids is a statewide coalition with a mission to �to reverse the trend of childhood obesity in this state by educating Marylanders about the epidemics of childhood obesity and teen diabetes and the role sugary drinks play in this crisis� and a number of ideas about steps than can be taken to help improve the environments of places where kids grow, learn, eat, and play to help set them on a healthy path for the future.
As policymakers responsible for a City with nearly 150,000 residents younger than 18, it is important that we on the City Council do all that we can to address this epidemic. An open conversation with Sugar Free Kids about the harm being caused to our children by these sugary drinks, and the options available to combat them, could be nothing but helpful to our efforts to improve the health of all of Baltimore�s children.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Council invites members of the Sugar Free Kids coalition to appear before it to discuss the effects that sugar has on our children, as well as ways that these effects can be reduced and mitigated to ensure a healthy future for all of Baltimore�s children.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Health Commissioner, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, the Youth Commission, and the Mayor�s Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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