l Promote daily physical activity

l Get TV out of children's rooms and limit media time to two hours per day

l Breast-feed - studies show children who were breast-fed are less likely to be obese than other babies

l Increase fruit and vegetable consumption

l Reduce soft drink consumption and meal-portion size

- Source: William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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By Tyler Peterson

The Salt Lake Tribune

Insurance coverage for obesity treatment. Report cards for PE class. School breakfast.

These were just a few of the ideas experts and decision-makers from schools, health organizations, insurance companies and government tossed around Wednesday at the Delta Center as possible solutions to counteract Utah's childhood obesity.

The disease's incidence has increased dramatically from 1993 to 2002 nationwide and in Utah, where one in four children is at an unhealthy weight, according to an August report from the Utah Department of Health.

“The saying is that 'it takes a village to raise a child,' ” said LaDene Larsen, director of the department's Bureau of Health Promotion. "No. It's going to take the family, the village, the city, the state and the federal government and every nonprofit and every business to really solve this problem. This isn't something that's going to happen by mom and dad."

The childhood obesity forum's participants brainstormed during hour-and-a-half sessions focused on changes at the family, community, health-care and education levels. At least 50 signed up to continue policy discussions with the health department, which hopes to have a concrete plan of attack by year's end.

One idea, which has already caught on at some Utah districts, is the "walking school bus." In practice, parents drop their children off three to four blocks away from school where an adult walks them the rest of the way.

Other areas of the country have experienced success in making healthy food options more accessible.

In Berkeley, Calif., middle school students tend a 2-acre garden as part of their curriculum. They learn how to grow the food and then they eat it, said William Dietz, a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention director and keynote speaker of the nine-hour forum.

In his address, Dietz explained research that pointed to excess TV viewing, poor diets and lack of physical activities as major contributors to childhood obesity. A lack of healthy options in school vending machines is also to blame, he said.

"Communities have a lot of power over how to negotiate those [vending machine] contracts," Dietz said.

Families can play a large part in determining healthy eating habits, too, Dietz said. In his house, Dietz gives his children food options and allows them to choose from his list. And dessert is never contingent upon eating certain foods.

“I've never understood that, because that says, 'if you eat enough, you can eat more,' ” he said.

When dealing with overweight issues within a family, Margaret Brae, a pediatric outpatient dietitian at Primary Children's Medical Center, says it is important to be supportive, not derogatory. When obesity issues are discussed, family members should focus on healthy behaviors, not weight, she said.

tpeterson@sltrib.com