It may be a sign of the times - unhealthier, inactive times - that two bills currently being considered by the Ohio legislature would require daily physical education in schools by a licensed instructor.
Child obesity has hit the nation, state and county in recent years and doesn't appear to be letting go.
"Kids are bombarded with sedentary activities," said Marietta City Schools physical education teacher Barb Moberg. "You can't neglect movement."
Elementary students in the district get just two weeks of P.E. class and then have four weeks off, when they're studying art and music.
"We're not happy with that," said Moberg.
Growing inactivity is only one of the problems leading to overweight and obese children, said Heidi Scarpitti, public health nutritionist and registered dietitian for the Ohio Department of Health.
"Children don't have a lot of control over their environment," she said. "A child is eating what's served and what's available and that may be unhealthy food."
The Ohio Department of Health is in the process of completing a second statewide survey of youth to determine state childhood obesity rates.
The first, conducted in 2004 and 2005 among nearly 15,000 third-graders in 388 schools, found that 18.9 percent of Ohio children were obese, slightly higher than the national average.
The percent of obese children in Washington County at that time was 19.6 percent.
"Sometimes in lower socio-economic areas we see a higher rate," said Scarpitti. "There may be fewer healthy food options or rural areas may not have ready access to YMCAs or playgrounds."
Scarpitti said small-scale surveys conducted at 30 years in between the larger studies have shown that the obesity rates have remained steady.
"There's not a decrease but there may be a leveling off," she said. "I personally believe people are starting to get the message but there aren't enough numbers yet to really change statistics."
It's other statistics related to child obesity that are the most alarming.
Seventy percent of children obese by age 11 will be obese adults.
A growing number of those children will develop diabetes, high blood pressure and joint problems that will build on themselves over time, said Scarpitti.
"They're not going to live as long," she said. "Longevity is not going to be what it would be if they were 40 and developed heart disease."
The good news, she said, is that if an overweight child loses weight and has healthy habits as an adult those health problems likely won't follow them.
Children need at least 60 minutes of activity a day, said Moberg, more than a gym class can provide.
"They should be playing outside, riding bikes, joining a sports team-it's extremely important," she said.
"It's important for them to find something they like. At every recess we have balls, jump ropes...we've found if we have fun equipment kids will be active. If you look around, there won't be too many kids standing still."
