The U.S. Senate has approved a bill to combat the growing problem of obesity, especially among children and teenagers.
Noting that obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, the bill authorizes a $60 million pilot project to help communities develop programs to address the problem, in part by promoting good nutrition and physical fitness. The programs would also deal with eating disorders.
More than 60 percent of U.S. adults and 13 percent of children are estimated to be overweight and about 300,000 deaths a year are associated with being overweight or obese, the bill's sponsors said.
The number of overweight children has doubled in the past 30 years and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled, they said.
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