It used to be you could count on school-age children to run rings around their parents -- what with bike riding, playing games at recess and participating in youth soccer and basketball leagues.

But area health and fitness officials say the popularity of video games, more sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets are turning more area children into sluggards who lack energy and are frequently overweight.

`` Sometimes we have the kids jog in class, and it only takes a minute or two before a lot of them are out of breath and have to walk,'' said Bill Riley, an elementary physical education teacher at the Hyman Fine School in Attleboro.

Duane German, executive director of the Attleboro YMCA, said lack of physical activity, snacking and poor nutrition have triggered a nationwide epidemic of obesity among America's young people, along with a host of associated health problems.

German, who heads a statewide association of YMCAs, is spearheading a new program this year targeting a lack of proper fitness and nutrition among adolescents. `` There are a lot of reasons for what's happening,'' German said. `` Many kids are less physically active, spend more time with video games and are constantly bombarded by marketing campaigns for snacks.''

Changes in family lifestyles also have had an impact, German said, with more kids getting rides from their parents rather than riding their bikes.

So concerned are pediatricians and health experts at Sturdy Memorial Hospital that the hospital has made fitness and obesity one of its two priority community issues for 2005, Marketing Director Lisa McCluskie said.

Worries concerning overweight and poor fitness among the young has done more than raise red flags within the public health community.

Beginning next month, area YMCAs, teachers, public school officials and health experts are unleashing an unprecedented and multifaceted assault on the problem:

E The state's YMCAs, backed by a state Department of Public Health grant, will start a pilot program next month at five YMCAs, including Attleboro's, in which personal coaches will advise `` at-risk'' children and their parents to increase their fitness through exercise and nutrition.

E Both the Attleboro and Hockomock Area YMCAs are participating in `` Activate America,'' a nationwide campaign to promote healthier lifestyles by getting children and their parents to exercise more and eat less.

E A statewide teachers association has filed legislation that would establish minimum physical education requirements in public schools, reversing a trend toward dwindling fitness classes.

E The Sun Chronicle will devote significant resources to publicizing fitness-related activities for both children and adults and covering related policy issues.

Officials express concern Local officials and health advocates are concerned about obesity and lack of exercise among adults as well as kids.

Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas said fitness and healthy living will receive special emphasis under his administration, beginning with a pilot program to encourage city employees to exercise.

In a short-term trial, recreation department employees have been allotted 20 minutes extra for their lunch hour to work out.

If the program proves popular, the practice could be expanded to other sites within the city.

`` Fitness is not only important to the health of our employees, it can also have an impact on our health insurance costs,'' Dumas said.

The need to promote fitness and cut fat is not just a regional concern. Nationally, two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight.

The significance of obesity as a major killer was highlighted last year in a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which placed it second only to tobacco as a cause of death for Americans.

Obesity accounts for the deaths of more than 300,000 Americans each year, according to the CDC.

And early death isn't the only threat.

Overweight people also suffer more frequently from health complications such as diabetes and heart disease.

Children are far from immune.

According to national figures, 13 percent of children 6 to 11 years old and 14 percent of those 12 to 19 were classified as overweight in 1999.

Number of obese children double

Since the 1980s, the percentage of children classified as fat has doubled, according to Dr. Steven Gortmaker of the Harvard School of Public Health. The rate for adolescents has nearly tripled.

Gortmaker blames the trend on an increase in the amount of time youngsters spend indoors watching television, surfing the Web or playing video games, as well as munching snacks.

A recent survey showed 60 percent of children in the Boston area now have television sets in their bedrooms, he said.

Obesity has not only sapped young people of energy, says the Attleboro YMCA's German, but it also has made some old before their time.

`` Not only do you get the effects we normally associate with being less fit,'' German said. `` It has also increased the incidence of what we normally consider adult diseases, such as heart disease, in children.''

Although obesity is a problem across all age groups, local officials are concentrating on kids and their families first.

Club to be formed

In Attleboro, the YMCA will be one of five Ys throughout Massachusetts that will begin a pilot program next month called the Physical Activity Club, which will match at-risk adolescents and their parents with a personal coach.

The coach will work with youngsters and their families over a 12-week period to adopt a healthier diet, find fun active pastimes and adopt other elements of a healthier lifestyle.

Participants in the free program will be referred by schools, local YMCAs and concerned parents.

In Attleboro, 30 to 50 youngsters ages 10 to 14 selected for the program, will be allowed to take part in YMCA fitness and exercise programs free of charge. In addition, their weight and `` body mass index'' will be recorded before and after the 12 weeks.

The pilot effort, aided by a $60,000 state health department grant, may eventually be expanded to all Massachusetts YMCAs.

Local YMCAs also have expanded fitness offerings generally and are joining with health professionals, educators and city officials to chart future strategies for promoting fitness and healthy living.

`Activate Attleboro'

At the core of the city's effort, called `` Activate Attleboro,'' is a diverse coalition of representatives from the city health department, school committee, Sturdy Memorial Hospital and Community Health Systems, as well as the YMCA.

Members will meet regularly to identify problems and to plot strategy toward encouraging fitness and combating obesity.

The initiative is part of a nationwide program called `` Activate America'' in which the YMCA will be seeking to promote fitness through a combination of physical activity and better diet and nutrition.

Also participating locally will be the Hockomock Area YMCA in North Attleboro, which is joining with the town schools and a local youth coalition to put together a fitness program tailored for middle school pupils. A pilot version is scheduled to kick off in March.

Making children the initial focus of a community fitness campaign makes sense because it reaches kids while they are in the process of forming habits that may last a lifetime, says nationally known fitness and physical education consultant Jean Blaydes-Madigan.

`` Research has shown that so much of what we become as adults has its foundation in adolescence,'' Blaydes-Madigan said. `` Whatever values or morals you have at that time will probably be the same values and morals you continue with as an adult.''

Beyond that, experts say, children who learn healthy habits early on are more likely to pass them down to their own children.

But while many new fitness-related initiatives appear promising, the goal of producing healthier children and adults faces pitfalls in the form of crumbling recreational facilities, tight budgets and declining physical education programs in schools.

Financial concerns

Two of Attleboro's four municipal pools were shut down this past summer and the city's indoor recreation center is operating at capacity, city Recreation Director Stacy Barr said.

The department has had an enthusiastic response to its programs among youngsters, including a new youth volleyball league with 65 enrolled players.

`` We're full up,'' said Barr, who said she has had to turn some groups away.

She said the recreation department, whose programs are supported through grants and fees, can't afford to rent additional space in city schools or other facilities.

While the YMCA and various youth sports leagues offer opportunities for thousands of Attleboro youngsters, Barr says many of those her department serves either can't afford or choose not to participate in organized games.

At the same time, public schools have downplayed the emphasis on physical education. Many school departments dramatically cut their programs after the state axed minimum requirements during the 1990s.

Attleboro's elementary schools currently offer one 45-minute period of physical education per week, said Hyman Fine's Riley, half the amount previously mandated.

The high school still requires 10 credits of physical education over a two-year period.

Riley is treasurer of the Massachusetts Association of Health Physical Education and Dance, which is backing legislation that would dramatically increase the amount of physical education instruction in Massachusetts public schools.

Under the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Thomas McGee, D-Lynn, and state Rep. Stephen Leduc, D-Marlborough, public schools would be required to provide at least 150 minutes of physical education per week in elementary schools and no less than 225 minutes per week at middle and high schools.

But the proposed requirement faces roadblocks in the form of funding difficulties and overflowing school gyms and playgrounds.

State Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, an avid runner, says he's sympathetic to the idea of boosting fitness, but opposes the physical education requirement as now outlined. He said the standard would impose a heavy financial burden on local schools.

`` If there was funding attached, that's one thing,'' Brown said. `` But this would be just another mandate that communities would have to pay for.''

A shortage of school facilities is also at issue.

Mansfield Superintendent John Moretti said he does not know where the schools would house the increased number of physical education classes the bill would require.

School gyms and athletic facilities are already heavily committed, Moretti said.

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0428 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.