Why Arnold Schwarzenegger is Good for California

In September 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1420 by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), to make California the first state in the USA to make all restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to provide calorific and nutritional information on menus.

“This legislation will help Californians make more informed, healthier choices by making calorie information easily accessible at thousands of restaurants throughout our state. By being the first state to provide this information to consumers, California is continuing to lead the nation with programs and policies that promote health and nutrition.” Arnold Governor Schwarzenegger.

Senate Bill 1420 requires all restaurant chains with over 20 eateries to publish calorie information on their menus and indoor menu boards by 2011. From July 1, 2009, brochures containing either calorie content information or other nutritional information, such as grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium, will have to be visible at the till.

Arnold Schwarzenegger also authorized SB 441 which requires that each person who operates or maintains a vending machine on state property to satisfy the requirement that at least 35% of the food and at least 33% of beverages offered in the vending machines meet the accepted nutritional guidelines by 2011.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leadership has put in place some of the USA’s most innovative and successful strategies to promote health and nutrition. To date, Arnold Schwarzenegger is responsible for:

1. Establishing school nutrition reforms, removing junk food and sugary sodas off school campuses.
2. Removing trans fats from school meals and phasing out the use of trans fats in all California restaurants beginning in 2010
3. Removing trans fats from all baked goods by 2011.
4. Investing millions of dollars in fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals.
5. Adopting the first-ever physical education standards (will Arnold workouts form part of this policy?)
   
6. Convening on a Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity where leaders of public and private sector organizations made significant commitments to change core business practices to help achieve a healthier California.
7. Reinvigorating of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which focuses on rewarding positive leadership in implementing healthy living in youth.
8. Proposing a comprehensive health care reform plan that emphasizes prevention and wellness.

Studies have shown that Californians have collectively gained weight by 360 million pounds over the last decade. One in three children and one in four teenagers are overweight or obese. Second only to tobacco, obesity is a leading cause of preventable death among Californians and costs the state $28.5 billion in health care costs, lost productivity and workers’ compensation. The lack of proper health and fitness education at school is blamed for many of these problems. Since the phasing out of tradition physical training in schools, a whole generation of has grown up without knowing how to look after their bodies.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s health reforms bring about government intervention to improve the quality of food available, highlight the nutritional value of the food on sale, as well as educate children to encourage a healthy lifestyle. He is looking to fight obesity from the core of the nation and by tackling health and fitness at the grass roots level through the schools. The children are our future, and they need to be nourished and educated properly. The Governor of California is making a real effort to ensure that this happens, and there is no doubt that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the best man for this job. Having won the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, he is well aware that a combination of willpower and education can change lives for the better.

Source: Governor of California Website

For more authoritative information on Arnold Schwarzenegger workouts, we recommend that you purchase one of his many books on weight training .