The statistic is jaw-dropping: one in three children aged 10 to 17 in Ohio is overweight or obese.

Still Lorraine Russell, project manager for Get Up Montgomery County, a countywide initiative that promotes healthy eating and active lifestyles for children and their families, said many parents turn a blind eye to the health care crisis happening around their dinner table.

“Often times a parent doesn’t want to admit ‘my child has an issue. It’s everybody else’s child, not my child,’ ” she said.

But the problem is real, affecting even the youngest children, experts said.

“The fastest growing age group for being overweight or obese are 3 to 5 years,” Russell said.

Why it matters

Don Brannen, an epidemiologist at Greene County Combined Health District, said ignoring the problem could lead to devastating results as children age.

“It’s something we have to (address) or we are going to have an epidemic or cardiovascular and heart disease,” said Brannen, pointing out that an unprecedented number of overweight children are developing diseases like type 2 diabetes previously only associated with adults.

Leah Sabato, a clinical dietitian at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, said there is also an increase in the number of children with bone and muscle problems. “They are so heavy their bones literally can’t stand it and they bow,” she said.

The national cost of childhood obesity, one of first lady Michelle Obama’s key platforms, is about $14 billion for children, according to a 2005 Thomson Medstat study. A recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Ohio’s adults are the 10th fattest and its children are the 15th most unfit.

Gov. Ted Strickland recently signed the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children bill. Designed to combat childhood obesity, the measure requires healthier options in school cafeterias, and provides for body mass index screenings of students and a pilot program for daily physical activity during school.

Jason Koma, spokesman the Ohio State Medical Association, a Dublin-based physician organization that helped pushed the bill, said that legislation will help parents manage their children’s health while they are at school.

“Everywhere you turn around in our state, whether it is Dayton or Portsmouth, childhood obesity is a problem,” said Koma, noting one study showed that 80 percent of obese kids grow up to be obese adults. “We are going to have this lost generation of Ohioans if we do not help to curtail this epidemic.”

How did it get so bad?

The childhood obesity problem has grown dramatically during the last 30 years. It comes down to societal changes such as larger portions and more eating on the go, Sabato said.

Physical activity has been cut out of the modern child’s life, particularly in schools, and replaced by time in front of the television, computer and video game console, she said.

“Whether kids gain weight or loss weight or stay the same depends on how many calories they burn,” Sabato said. “They are not burning any calories when they are in front of the television and they are munching (on snacks).”

A major caloric culprit for older children is soda and other sugary drinks, she said. For babies, it is juice.

What parents can do

Health care officials say prevention is the goal and there are many things parents can do to help improve their child’s health.

Here are a few tips:

Follow the 5, 2, 1, almost none plan.

Get Up Montgomery County, which receives its funding from the county’s Human Services levy and CareSource, promotes “5, 2, 1, almost none.”

Russell explains the plan involves eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day; limiting television, gaming and computer time to two hours daily; getting at least one hour of active play a day; and drinking almost no sugary drinks.

Reduce temptation

Sabato said parents should be conscientious about the groceries that they buy.

“I have parents who say ‘So-and-so won’t stay out of the Little Debbies. They won’t stay out of the Doritos. They won’t stay out of my pop,’ ” Sabato said. “Keep those unhealthy foods out of the house.”

Healthy food should make up 80 to 90 percent of a child’s diet, she said. Snack foods can be saved for special occasions.

Sabato advised keeping fruits stocked in the house as well as healthy foods kids generally love like string cheese, low-fat yogurt, dips for vegetables and granola bars.

Be a healthy role model

Doing things like cooking healthy meals together can be an encouraging thing, Russell said.

“Once you get them involved, they get more interested and more likely to try something,” she said. “It’s being a role model. They are not going to do it if they don’t see you do it.”

Parents should set good examples for their children and make activities a family affair, Russell said.

“You can do all kind of things that don’t cost anything,” she added. “They can do small things that are easy to do that don’t take a lot equipment.”

Stop frying food

Fried food might be delicious, but it’s not good for you.

Sabato encourages her patients’ parents to grill, broil and bake food.

Watch what they drink

Soda, sports drinks and other sugary beverages are the only things Sabato advises should be eliminated.

“That’s the one things there’s not much room for in the diet,” she said, adding that skim or 1 percent milk is better than whole milk after age 2.

Pay attention to Body Mass Index

As for adults, Body Mass Index is a good gauge, Sabato said.

“They are saying above that cross points you are at an increase risk of health problems,” she said. “It is not a judgment of weight at all.”

A child’s BMI — (weight in pounds x 703) / (height in inches x height in inches) — is determined partly by the percentiles of their peers.

A BMI calculator is located at www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.html

Don’t force-feed your child

Forcing a child to eat a food may set the stage for unhealthy eating habits and a potential eating disorder down the road, Sabato said. Children should be allowed to pick the foods they want to eat from a selection of healthy choices, she said.

But parents shouldn’t give up on a healthy food if their child doesn’t at first give it a chance, Sabato said.

“Studies show kids have to be exposed to foods as many as 10 times before they’ll try them,” she said.