If you pay attention long enough, you'll hear the words epidemic, childhood and obesity uttered a lot, in the same sentence. Too, if you take a moment to look around the community where you live, you might notice that kids are bigger than they used to be; you know, overweight.

"I see a lot of kids coming to us overweight," says Robin Taylor, nutrition director for the Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County School District.

In fact, Taylor and other educators are seeing a serious increase in obesity in this area. According to statistics provided by Debbie Leete of Albemarle Hospital, the Albemarle area is seeing a problem so pervasive, Pasquotank County exceeds the state average in overweight and at-risk children.

Leete, who is the community outreach manager for Albemarle Hospital, is spearheading programs started by the hospital to combat obesity. Last year the hospital, in conjunction with the area Health Advisory Council, put together a study to look at obesity in our children and found staggering results that reflect a nationwide trend.

They went to Weeksville and Pasquotank Elementary Schools to look at children ages six to 11. Selecting the students at random, without regard for race, sex, age or economic status, Leete says on average 18 percent of the students were at-risk of being overweight — that means they are overweight but not obese — and 19 to 21 percent were overweight, or what most would call obese.

"We don't like to call children obese," she explains.

Regardless of what label schools and health care providers put on it, kids are in serious trouble. According to statitistics from the Center for Disease Control based in Atlanta, Ga., nearly two-thirds of the American population is overweight or obese; more than a third of the children receive at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, three days a week.

Ask Leete or Taylor why they think we're seeing such a serious spike in weight gain and their answers are virtually identical. Most people agree, children are becoming more sedentary because they spend more time in front of the television or computer, and less time playing outside.

In addition, according to the CDC study on childhood obesity, school physical education time has been dramatically cut.

"Only 8 percent of elementary schools, 6.4 percent of middle schools and 5.8 percent of senior high schools provide daily physical education and only 49 percent of all schools offer intramural activities or physical activity clubs," reads a list of facts provided by the CDC.

Leete says she also believes the issue is a matter of education and awareness. Studies show, she says, that people with higher levels of education are less likely to become obese.

"In some cases, the lower the education rate, the higher the weight," Leete says, referring to one study.

Albemarle Hospital in conjunction with the local school district, is beginning a study of their own this year. Leete says that in order to better understand what it takes to keep kids healthy, the hospital and school district will be following a sample group of children from JC Sawyer Elementary School.

Over the next several years the students will be given physical education, nutrition activities and other programs to help them understand the need for good health. The study will follow the students and their progress to try and understand just what it takes to help these kids form good nutrition and exercise habits.

"To see if there is a magic age where there is a breaking point," says Leete.

While the study is underway, the school district is currently following state mandate and working to implement better nutrition in the cafeterias while encouraging parents to pack healthier lunches for the children, according to Robin Taylor.

Taylor says the schools are also introducing baked foods in lieu of fried, fresh fruits and vegetables and serving skim or 1 percent milk.

"It's not that the food was not healthy," Taylor says. "We do know in food service there were things we needed to change."

Change has to come from home, as well. Both Taylor and Leete say obesity is a family problem and both institutions have solutions to help families.

For Taylor's part, the schools are sending home notes "encouraging" parents to pack healthier lunches. The school district policy, she says, is simply to encourage and not tell parents what they must pack, but that could change in the future if dietary habits do not.

Taylor says making dietary standards for lunches brought from home mandatory is not out of the question. She says making suggestions to parents has been hard at times, some parents becoming offended when asked to pack healthier foods.

"We are going to decide now how to handle it. Are we going to be forceful? We haven't taken that route," she says, acknowledging that it is possible.

For the hospital's part, they've launched a program they call the "Albemarle We Can Program." Working with Coastal Pediatrics, the area YMCA and Albemarle Mental Health, Leete says the program is designed to incorporate the entire family into the fold.

"It's caring at home," she explains.

For two months families are coached on food options, healthier ways to cook at home, self esteem and exercise.

"We're coaching them to a healthier lifestyle," she says.

Leete says the bottom line is, people are not as active as they once were and portion sizes have grown larger. In fact, according to the National Institute of Health, portions sizes have increased considerably over the past 20 years — just a few examples:

• A bagel 20 years ago was 3 inches in diameter and had 140 calories. How many calories do you think are in today's bagel? Today's 6-inch bagel has 350 calories. This is 210 more calories than a 3-inch bagel 20 years ago.

• A cheeseburger 20 years ago had 333 calories. How many calories do you think are in today's cheeseburger? Today's fast food cheeseburger has 590 calories. This is 257 more calories than a portion 20 years ago.

• A portion of spaghetti and meatballs 20 years ago had 500 calories. How many calories do you think are in today's portion of spaghetti and meatballs? Today's Portion of spaghetti and meatballs has 1,025 calories. This includes 2 cups of pasta with sauce and 3 large meatballs. This is 525 more calories than a portion 20 years ago.