HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	62
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Encouraging food service facilities IN THE STATE that offer a children's menu of meal options, or a meal that is REPRESENTED as a children's meal, to serve children's meals with higher NUTRITIONAL quality and include only bottled water or low-fat milk as THE DEFAULT beverage in the meal or menu option.

     WHEREAS, in 2012, the Institute of Medicine found that sugary drinks contribute more calories and added sugars in American diets than any other food or beverage and that daily consumption of sugar is strongly linked to higher childhood obesity and type-2 diabetes rates; and

     WHEREAS, in 2014, the Hawaii State Department of Health indicated that fifty-seven percent of adults in Hawaii are overweight or obese, and additionally about one in four children entering kindergarten in Hawaii is overweight or obese; and

     WHEREAS, in 2010, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that soda, energy and sports drinks, and sweetened bottled waters were the largest source of added sugars in the diets of two through eighteen year olds, with fruit drinks following as the second largest source; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that sixty-three percent of high school students report consuming at least one sugary beverage daily and eighty-one percent of children ages six to eleven also consumed at least one sugary beverage daily; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that adolescents often make sugar-sweetened beverage purchases before and after school, with one study showing that sugary beverages accounted for eighty-eight percent of all beverage purchases among fourth through sixth grade students who shop at corner stores before and after school; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that drinking just one eight ounce sugary drink per day increases a child's odds of becoming obese by sixty percent and drinking soda nearly doubles the risk of dental caries in children; and

     WHEREAS, in 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association indicated that overweight adolescents have a seventy percent chance of becoming overweight adults and the number of teens being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and pre-diabetes has grown from nine percent to twenty-three percent in less than ten years; and

     WHEREAS, in 2013 and 2014, the Childhood Obesity Journal and the National Restaurant Association indicated that more people are likely to select the default option included in a meal price or menu option rather than request an alternative, and seventy-two percent of customers said that they would be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers healthful default options; and

     WHEREAS, in 2010, the American Society for Nutrition found that there is strong evidence showing that children and adolescents who reduce their sugary beverage intake experience significant decreases in weight gain and fat deposits, which reduces the risk of developing diabetes; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that all food service facilities in the State that offer a children's menu of meal options, or a meal that is represented as a children's meal, are encouraged to serve children's meals with higher nutritional quality and include only bottled water or low-fat milk as the default beverage included in the meal or menu option; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all food service facilities in the State that offer a children's menu of meal options, or a meal that is represented as a children's meal, be encouraged to offer more fruit and vegetable options and make those options the default side dish with every children's meal; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all food service facilities in the State that offer a children's menu of meal options, or a meal that is represented as a children's meal, be encouraged to offer more whole grains as a part of children's meals; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Children's Meals; Healthy Options