Texas is now the 12th Fattest state in and is ranked 7th in childhood obesity.
It is more likely that a child will be obese if the parent is, said Dr. Shreela Sharma, assistant professor at the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at UTHealth.
This has been on the mind of some Texas Legislators this past 82nd session. But not everyone was able to get their bills passed.
State Sen. Lucio (D-27) introduced SB 1004 that would put a tax on Soft Drinks and Rep. Farias introduced a similar House Bill placing a tax on Sugary Drinks. Both proposed measures failed, as did SB185, which would restore three semesters of required physical education credits for high school students as opposed to the current two.
Obesity-Related “Food Bills” that Failed to Pass
SB 1004 by Sen. Eddie Lucio – Soft Drink Tax
HB 2214 by Rep. Joe Farias – Sugary Drink Tax
HB 3467 by Sen. Dan Patrick – Banning Trans Fat in Schools
HB 127 by Rep. Carol Alvarado – Sugary Drink Restrictions in School
SB 184 by Sen. Jane Nelson, Would have provided funding and establishment for community food gardens
Obesity-Related “Activity Bills” that Failed to Pass
SB 185 by Sen. Jane Nelson – Increasing P.E. in Middle School
SB 186 by Nelson – Restoring P.E. in High School
HB 3770 by Rep. Cindy Burkett – would have made school have a mandatory 20 minute recess.
HB 1105 Linda Harper- Brown and SB 513 by Sen. Rodney Ellis would have provided people a safer area for families and pedestrians to be active, such as sidewalks and bike lanes.
But some Bills weren’t just sitting on TX Capitol hill ( via School House Rock). They were signed into law.
New Laws and Developments Pertaining to Obesity
SB 226 by Nelson -- Would ask that schools collect the data from fitness exams of their students and share it with the Texas Education Agency so that they can use the data to develop better curriculum for students.
HB 2994 by Rep. Borris Miles – Promoting Urban Farming
SB 89 by Lucio and HB 643 by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez – Summer Food Program
