A national study of efforts to control childhood obesity in 2004 gave Utah a big, fat "F" for its paucity of state laws on the subject. A 2005 update of the study, conducted at the University of Baltimore, reiterated the dismal grade.

Yet the National Center for Education Statistics says only 7 percent of Utah kids are overweight, compared to a national rate of 12 percent. And, according to NCES, Utah kids watch less television than their national counterparts and engage in more physical activity.

Why the difference? The Utah penchant for local policy-making could be behind the conflicting statistics. Educators say Utah schools are working to fend off national epidemics of obesity and Type II diabetes, but not through legislation.

Utah's core curriculum for health and physical education is mandated by the state, but tailored to local needs by districts. The elementary curriculum is being revamped to reflect the latest information about obesity, nutrition and activity.

"Now we know that we have to make changes to improve the shape of kids," said Frank Wojtech, director of health and physical education for the Utah State Department of Education.

In this age of education reform - when the yardstick for teacher and school success is student performance in math, reading and science - it's tempting for teachers to give short shrift to health education and physical activity, especially in elementary schools.

"Most districts work with the core curriculum in all areas, and do as much as they can," said Wojtech, "but they have time limitations, and some may choose more time for health and P.E. than others."

Elementary teachers are expected to find the necessary time to teach the state's health curriculum, but schools do not report test results. One harried third-grade teacher, who asked not to be named, admitted she taught health curriculum on only one day during the past school year, concentrating instead on preparing her students for national tests.

Utah's secondary schools must offer certain health and P.E. classes, though the number of P.E. classes falls short of recommendations from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The state's elementary schools are not required to provide recess, and the prescription for 90 minutes of P.E. per week is a mere recommendation, not a requirement.

"We've had reports that recess has been shortened in some areas and eliminated in others," said Wojtech. "Schools and teachers are very conscious of No Child Left Behind standards and the testing scores they must meet, and they are looking for as much time as possible to give kids extra instruction time."

Sharon Campbell, a teacher at Tolman Elementary in Bountiful, said she doesn't skip recess for her entire second-grade class, but keeps individual students in at times.

"I will keep in a child from recess in order to finish up a subject when he wasted his time during class and didn't get done," she said.

Davis School District, which includes Tolman Elementary, provides two 30-minute P.E. periods each week for elementary students, with paraprofessional specialists doing the teaching. Wojtech said that scenario is unusual. Utah does not require elementary P.E. specialists. In most elementary schools, classroom teachers give P.E. instruction, regardless of background or interest.

"Many have very little preparation in the areas of health or physical education," said Wojtech. He wishes the Utah legislature would require P.E. specialists in elementary schools and provide funding. He also thinks Utah should require schools to monitor and report fitness levels of each student, as some states do.

To help her students become more active, Campbell finds ways to incorporate movement into learning tasks throughout the school day. Students review addition skills by pairing up to toss a soccer ball covered with numbers, then adding the numbers under their thumbs after they catch the ball. When they come to the front of the room to retrieve letters for a vowel recognition game, they are asked to skip, hop or jump.

Sometimes, Campbell uses activity as a reward. When the entire class has met expectations, a quick game of soccer or kickball is the pay-off - a healthy alternative to passing out candy.

State law mandates how many health and P.E. classes students must take in junior high and high school. Utah students take one semester of P.E. in both seventh and eighth grades, and a semester of health education in one of those years. The P.E. classes concentrate on team sports, with emphasis on personal fitness - and nutrition, a recent addition.

The ambitious curriculum for the half-year health class covers, obesity, fitness, diseases, body systems, eating disorders, human sexuality, CPR, first aid and more. Another half-year of health education is taught in either ninth or 10th grade, and treats similar topics in greater detail.

"It could easily be a full-year curriculum," Wojtech said.

Utah students must take three semesters of P.E. while in grades 9 through 12.

The rigor of P.E. classes varies from rigorous weight-lifting and sports training classes to P.E. classes taught over the Internet. (Students are expected to exercise on their own, with parents signing off on exercise logs.)

The number of P.E. and health courses required for high school graduation in Utah is the same as it was two decades ago, but the atmosphere of the classes is much different than in the past.

"The teacher is not the military drill sergeant that I once saw," Wojtech said. "The teacher is more of a facilitator, there to help students find what they like - to show them that they are all different, and should approach activities differently. The new physical education reaches out to all students, not just the athletically gifted."

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Contact Celia Baker at cbaker@sltrib.com or 801-257-8693. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.