[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5224 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5224
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote healthy eating and
physical activity among children.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 9, 2025
Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote healthy eating and
physical activity among children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Obesity in Youth Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious impacts on the
health and well-being of children and families.
(2) Unemployment and poverty, as well as lengthy business,
school, and childcare closures, have all contributed to
elevated levels of food insecurity, with an estimated
14,000,000 children in the United States not getting enough to
eat.
(3) Millions of children receive free or reduced-price
meals through early childhood education programs, including
school and early care and education programs such as childcare,
Head Start, pre-kindergarten, and family childcare, making
early childhood education an important setting for addressing
food insecurity.
(4) More than 30,000,000 children receive free or reduced-
price meals on a daily basis, and access to both breakfast and
lunch can provide some children with more than half of their
daily caloric intake.
(5) Due to financial instability during the COVID-19
pandemic, there is an increased likelihood of unhealthy weight
gain among children as families shift to less costly,
calorically dense, shelf-stable foods, rather than fresh foods.
(6) Research has shown that early childhood is an important
time for developing dietary and physical activity behaviors
that support health and well-being and that may help prevent
obesity.
(7) Children who are exposed to healthy foods early are
more likely develop eating habits that promote healthy growth
that can continue throughout childhood, and healthy eating can
improve a child's learning ability, potentially lead to higher
academic performance, improve mental, social, and physical
well-being, and contribute to increased self-esteem.
(8) Research underscores the importance of physical
activity in early childhood. It is not only essential for
healthy weight maintenance, but also for practicing and
learning fundamental gross motor skills and improving academic
achievement. Furthermore, when children have the opportunity
for adequate physical activity, they benefit physically,
psychologically and socially.
(9) Nearly 20 percent (1 in 5) of 2-year-olds spend more
than 2 hours of a typical day watching television or videos,
and the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics
found that each incremental hour of watching television at age
2 is associated with corresponding declines in school
engagement, math achievement, and weekend physical activity,
and with increases in bullying by classmates, consumption of
soft drinks and snacks, and body mass index at age 10.
(10) A study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine in 2014 found that a third of children overweight in
kindergarten had obesity by the eighth grade. Almost every
child with severe obesity remained that way, suggesting that
efforts must start much earlier and focus more on the children
at greatest risk.
(11) A study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine in 2017 estimates that over 50 percent of 2-year-olds
today will be obese by 35 years of age.
(12) A study examining the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey published in 2018 found an increase in
prevalence of childhood obesity in 2015 and 2016. Childhood
obesity for children between 2 and 5 years of age increased
from 9 percent to 14 percent, the highest increase since 1999.
(13) In 2016, about 82 percent of United States preschool-
aged children were in childcare, and most of their day was
spent in sedentary activities.
(14) Early care and education centers serve approximately
7,500,000 children birth through age 5 years but not yet in
kindergarten, making the early childhood care and education
setting an important one for promoting healthful habits.
(15) More than 122,000 children in 12 States have
benefitted from efforts to support healthier early care and
education programs. This includes the provision of training and
coaching for childcare providers and technical assistance to
State agencies to integrate nutrition and physical activity
best practices into existing State and local systems.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) establish a program that will enhance the training and
knowledge of early care and education providers and influence
practices, policies, and environments in early care and
education settings to support healthy eating and physical
activity for children ages birth through 5, including by
addressing the growing threat of food insecurity;
(2) provide support to States on ways to link early care
and education programs to nutrition supports;
(3) monitor progress of healthy eating and physical
activity promotion in early care and education settings; and
(4) identify emerging, and expand existing, approaches to
engaging families and parents of children ages birth to 5 in
healthy eating and physical activity.
SEC. 3. HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM.
Part Q of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 399Z-3. HEALTHY KIDS GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this
section as the `Secretary') and in coordination with the Assistant
Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, shall award
5-year competitive grants to one or more eligible entities--
``(1) to improve healthy eating and physical activity among
children ages birth through 5 years in early care and education
settings; and
``(2) to address food insecurity among such children.
``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), an entity shall be--
``(1) a nonprofit organization with expertise in early
childhood health and childhood obesity prevention;
``(2) an institution of higher education (as defined in
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965) or research
center that employs faculty with relevant expertise and has
expertise in training early care and education providers; or
``(3) a consortium of entities described in paragraphs (1)
and (2) that submit a single application to carry out
activities under the grant jointly.
``(c) Application.--An entity seeking a grant under subsection (a)
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--An entity shall use amounts received
under a grant under this section to work directly with
implementing partners, which may include States, territories,
Indian Tribes, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations--
``(A) to create sustainable programs to train early
care and education providers through direct coaching
and peer-learning, access to quality technical
assistance, and professional development opportunities
that are focused on healthy eating, physical activity,
addressing food insecurity, and other topics that
support children's healthy development, as determined
by the Secretary;
``(B) to build State capacity through training,
technical assistance, and resources to integrate the
promotion of healthy eating and physical activity into
existing early care and education programs, systems,
and initiatives, including linking early care and
education programs to new and existing resources for
nutrition supports, with a focus on promoting equity;
and
``(C) to test innovative or evidence-informed
approaches to promoting healthy habits and healthy
child development in early care and education settings,
which may include linking early care and education and
health care providers, enhancing early care and
education staff wellness, enhancing access to quality
foods in the early care and education settings, and
engaging families of children ages birth to 5 years
served in the early care and education programs
supported by a grant under this section.
``(2) Implementing partners.--In selecting implementing
partners under paragraph (1), a recipient of a grant under this
section shall ensure that such partners--
``(A) serve populations that are racially,
ethnically, socioeconomically, and geographically
diverse; and
``(B) represent a mix of rural and urban settings.
``(3) National independent evaluator.--From the amounts
appropriated to carry out this section, and prior to awarding
any grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into
a contract with an external entity to create a single, uniform
process to--
``(A) ensure that entities that receive grants
under paragraph (1) comply with the requirements of
this section; and
``(B) evaluate the outcomes of the grant activities
carried out by each participating entity.
``(e) Tracking State Progress.--The Secretary may use amounts
appropriated under subsection (g)(2) to enter into contracts with, or
award grants to, institutions of higher education, nonprofit
organizations, or other entities with relevant monitoring and
surveillance expertise, for purposes of--
``(1) tracking State progress in obesity prevention
policies and practices of early care and education programs in
States where grantees are present; and
``(2) measuring changes in food security within exposed
groups.
``(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the completion of the
programs and activities (including monitoring and surveillance under
subsection (e)) funded under grants awarded under this section, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress, and all appropriate Federal
agencies, a report concerning an evaluation of the results of such
programs and activities, including best practices, and lessons derived
from the experiences of grantees, with respect to reducing and
preventing food insecurity and obesity and overweight among children
ages birth through 5 years in the early care and education settings.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2026 through 2030.
``(2) Funding for tracking state progress.--In addition to
amounts made available under paragraph (1), there is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out subsection (e) $1,700,000 for
fiscal year 2026.
``(h) Early Care and Education Defined.--In this section, the term
`early care and education' means programs and activities that serve
children ages birth through 5 years either through in-home or out-of-
home settings, including childcare programs, Head Start programs,
family childcare, and pre-kindergarten programs.''.
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