SUNDAY FORUM

• Best advice for kids: Move, move, move • Winning the battle for fit kids • Time to 'run outside and play' • No room in schedule for exercise • Health concern led to quest for fitness • Fitness bits • What you can do now • Part #1 of series (Sep. 26) • Part #2 of series (Oct. 3) YOUR VOICE

But the health issue we're covering today, children's lack of fitness, is the less apparent side of this crisis, and may be the more important. Even normal weight children struggle with this problem and will suffer from its detrimental effects.

We may not be surprised to hear physical education is disappearing from schools, or that kids would rather sit behind a computer than stand behind a foul line. But the notion of children who, not only don't have time to play, but don't know how to play is nevertheless a revelation.

Something is fundamentally wrong here, and unless we address it, our children's health problems will combust into an adult crisis that will rock our economy and compromise the quality of our lives.

But as jarring as it is to realize just how unfit our children are - even the average kid - it is equally reassuring to see how close at hand are solutions.

For already over-stressed parents, it's liberating to realize that all our kids really need to do is move. And much as we've twisted their natural instincts, we probably haven't squelched their inherent love of hopping, skipping and splashing. In the end, it's still hard to keep a good kid down.

And, while we try to remember how many servings of vegetables our kids need and if they've had absolutely any this week, the guidelines for physical activity are beautifully simple. Get those kids sweating and breathing hard for 20 minutes at least four times a week. They can tear along on a bike trail or stay inside and hop to hip-hop. And if you add music, or water or friendly competition, it's amazing how quickly inert kids spring back to life. And so do we.

Recently I have performed the perfectly ordinary act of walking my 7-year-old to school. It was a 20-minute commitment that, until I had cause to think about it, had never occurred to me to make. Now I mourn my inattention. Without doubt, they were the best 20 minutes of my day. Not only did I learn more about the trading card character, Yu-Gi-Oh, than I ever had cause to know, I realized anew what good company my son is. After those 20 minutes - and I think you will understand this - the rest of my day made better sense.

If you take nothing else from our Healthy Kids, Healthy Future series, the Enquirer Editorial Board sincerely hopes you will take this: We have the power to turn the tide on this children's health crisis. The solution is not a pill or program, but a series of intentional good decisions that replace unhealthy ones.

If ever parents, grandparents, educators, health-care professionals and community leaders should come together in a cause, this is the fight to pick. Please sign our pledge form and take part.

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Email Editorial Board member Krista Ramsey at kramsey@enquirer.com