Today in America, there are children of every possible shape and size. A lot of attention has been focused on children who make drastic changes to make themselves thin. But how many children need to be concerned about being too heavy?

Y-Press interviewed Emily Loghmani, a dietitian in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at Riley Hospital for Children. Several girls from Girls Inc. also shared their opinions about obesity, fitness and nutrition.

According to Loghmani, "I've read reports that like approximately 20 percent of kids are obese, and you really have to be careful about if they're talking overweight or obese. I don't even like to use the word obese. Obesity is a medical term that refers to someone who has an excessive amount of body fat, and for the most part, we don't ever do measurements that show how much body fat somebody has."

A more standard way of assessing someone's size is to figure his or her body mass index -- a calculation involving a person's weight and height, which is then plotted on a growth chart. According to Loghmani, people are considered overweight if their body mass index is greater than the 95th percentile, and they are at risk of being overweight if their body mass index is between the 85th and 95th percentiles.

Most overweight young people do not eat more than those of normal weight, according to World Book Encyclopedia. However, they are so inactive that, even with a moderate appetite, they eat more than they need and accumulate excess fat.

Area girls had varying views on the causes of obesity.

"They eat too much, or it might be 'cause when they were babies, their mothers fed them too much milk, and that's why they have a habit of eating a lot," said Arika Young, 10. Dominique McCrary, 11, had a different theory. "They might not eat and get a lot of air inside of them, and then they start getting big."

Krystal Hibbitt, 14, believed it's related to a lack of exercise. "I think the reason why they're so big is because they eat and they just lay around and don't do things."

Brianna Wells, 10, thought heredity may play a role. "I think it's the gene thing."

All of the girls touched on factors affecting a person's weight, according to Loghmani. "Certainly food intake can affect your weight. Genetics can affect it to a certain amount, if other people in your family are overweight. People's metabolism -- how their body runs, which is unique to everyone -- can affect your weight, and then your activity level affects your weight," she said. There are a few other causes of obesity -- namely diabetes and thyroid problems. But Loghmani emphasized that while genetics contributes to a person's shape, few people are genetically programmed to be fat.

"All you need to do is look around and see that people come in different sizes and shapes," said Loghmani. "Only 10 percent of people are genetically programmed to have a thin, lean body shape."

Overweight people are forced to deal with health problems that others never encounter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60 percent of overweight 5- to 10-year-old children already have at least one risk factor for heart disease.

"(Overweight children are) at a greater risk for having high blood pressure and a high blood cholesterol level, which can be risk factors for heart disease," Loghmani explained. Overweight people also "can have problems with their joints, with mobility. They can have a problem called sleep apnea, where they have problems sleeping during the night, and they can have some emotional problems, like depression."

Overweight people might also face prejudice and cruel jokes.

"This girl in my classroom, she's really overweight, and people call her names like fatso," Dominique said. The girls would like to see more sensitivity toward overweight people. "I think that we are all different sizes, and no one should make fun of other people," she said.

Most students take physical education from elementary to early high school, where they might learn about different parts of the body, study the rules of cricket, or swim. But the frequency of P.E. classes varies. Some students might go every day, others just once a week. And according to the CDC, daily participation in high school physical education classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 1997.

Most of the girls reported having P.E. only once a week, although they do a variety of activities. "We exercise and do many different things -- sit-ups, push-ups, pretzels, and things like that," said Krystal.

The girls would like to receive more health education. Right now, most of them go to health class once a week, but they don't get much information about healthy lifestyles.

"(At) after-school programs, we have health, but they don't teach us a lot about health. Most of it's just like, 'Don't smoke,' " said Ramica. Dominique and Brianna said their health classes focus on smoking and drugs and other health dangers. They would like to have speakers, such as doctors, come in to talk about healthy lifestyles.

Loghmani agreed that the schools could provide more information on good health habits. "There can be more emphasis on what is healthy, as opposed to messages that say just don't eat this and don't eat that," she said. Physical activity in the schools needs to increase, because after school, many kids follow the same routine as Ramica: "When I go home, I do my homework, watch TV, and then I go to bed."

According to Committed to Kids, a weight management program targeted at children, the average child spends 20 to 30 hours a week in front of a TV.

For students who are home by themselves, Loghmani suggests several alternatives to television: "Listen to music, read books, put on dance videos or exercise videos."

Another habit to get into is eating nutritious foods, and eating three meals a day, especially breakfast.

"A lot of kids who are overweight don't eat breakfast, they eat a really light lunch, and then physiological hunger kicks in {lbra}during{rbra} the afternoon," Loghmani said. "So they start snacking in the afternoon, and maybe they just can't stop snacking and they end up eating more or they eat a big dinner 'cause they're hungry."

REPORTERS: Kelly Daniels, 11; Keisha Mitchell, 12; Ethan Walden, 13; and Olivia Mozzi, 13.