Legislation to Prevent Child Obesity
The North Carolina General Assembly is considering two bills to prevent child obesity. House Bill 1726 would require child care programs to provide:
- Reduced fat milk (skim or 1 percent)
- No more than four to six ounces of juice per day
- No sugar-sweetened beverages
- A rest period after lunch
- An out-of-doors period (20 to 30 minutes of exercise for half-day children and 60 minutes for those in centers for a full day)
Senate Bill 1286 would require all children receiving Medicaid or participating in the Health Choice for Children Program to undergo BMI screening.
The bills come from recommendations General Assembly’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which presented 11 recommendations for tacking childhood obesity.
