R 109

2017 -- H 5899 Enacted 03/09/2017

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING MARCH 9, 2017, TO BE "WORLD KIDNEY DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Representatives Corvese, Azzinaro, Winfield, O'Brien, and Edwards

Date Introduced: March 09, 2017

WHEREAS, World Kidney Day is a global awareness campaign aimed at raising

awareness of the importance of our kidneys, and about preventive behaviors, risk factors, and

how to live with a kidney disease; and

WHEREAS, About the size of one's fist, the kidneys are complicated and amazing organs

that remove toxins and excess water from our blood and help to regulate blood pressure by

controlling the salt and water in the body, in order to produce red blood cells and keep bones

healthy; and

WHEREAS, World Kidney Day was first started in 2006 and has grown in both

participation and scope ever since and each year, World Kidney Day highlights a different

campaign theme; and

WHEREAS, The focus of this year's World Kidney Day is obesity and the ways in which

we can promote education about its harmful consequences and its association with kidney

disease; and

WHEREAS, Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may

impair health. In 2014, over 600 million adults were considered obese worldwide, and by 2025,

obesity will affect 18 percent of men and over 21 percent of women worldwide, and severe

obesity will affect 6 percent of all men and 9 percent of all women; and

WHEREAS, In some nations, obesity is already present in more than one-third of the

adult population and contributes significantly to overall poor health and high annual medical

costs; and

WHEREAS, Kidney disease is more likely to develop in obese people including in those

with diabetes and hypertension. In addition, obesity increases the risk of death and contributes to

many other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obstructive

sleep apnea, fatty liver, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, various cancers, mental disorders, and

poor quality of life; and

WHEREAS World Kidney Day is an event that provides the opportunity to advocate for

healthy lifestyle choices, and to promote health policy measures that will make preventive

behaviors an affordable option; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims March 9, 2017, to be "World Kidney Day" in the State

of Rhode Island. We urge and encourage all the citizens of the state to learn about healthy choices

to prevent kidney disease; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Director Nicole Alexander-Scott, Rhode Island

Department of Health, and The National Kidney Foundation.

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LC002105

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