The Beavers Juice Plus

Westside first-graders Kemicha Lovett, 8, and Lucia Tshupo, 6, take part in a health and fitness presentation. N-J | Sean McNeil

Fourth-grader Mark Wiggins, 11, has his body mass index tested with help from fitness trainer Judi Boone, center, and Spruce Creek student Paria Ghyabi, 18, at Westside Elementary School on Wednesday. N-J | Sean McNeil

Judi Boone asks a group of fourth-graders at Westside Elementary School how much sugar is in a 20-ounce bottle of soda recently. N-J | Sean McNeil

DAYTONA BEACH -- Judi Boone held up what looked like food devoured daily millions of times over -- a burger and fries -- and incited a jolt of hands when she asked if anyone wanted some.

She picked up a fry and headed toward 10-year-old Tyrique Gordon, who was reaching out for it until she told him: "This is not a french fry. It's potato flakes formed into a fry and then boiled in oil."

A collective, "Ewwwww," spread through the group of fourth-graders assembled in the Westside Elementary School library recently. And then came this warning to last a lifetime as Boone gestured toward her backside. "You may think you know what this is, but your body will not have a clue what it's for and will put this on the back porch for you to carry around."

While President Obama's administration tries to reform how health care is paid for, first lady Michelle Obama last month began a campaign to reduce the number of people who will need that health care -- trying to turn around the rising tide of childhood obesity.

"Let's Move" targets long-term policy changes to make it easier to be healthier, such as changing school lunches and bringing fresh produce into more neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, local efforts are under way to prevent today's children -- living in a country with the planet's highest concentration of McDonald's fries -- from becoming the first generation in history to experience shorter life spans than their parents because of what they choose to eat, as some experts have predicted.

Boone, a fitness trainer at Plantation Bay Country Club in Ormond Beach, guest starred at Westside as part of an after-school presentation to more than 400 children. In addition to the opportunity to have a professional haircut, learn about their body fat percentage and move around a little bit, the afternoon featured Boone's quick primer on what foods are good enough to eat without hesitation (fruits and vegetables). She also discussed which should be approached with caution (cheese, for example) and those that should be eaten sparingly or hardly ever (chocolate cake).

"What's a green-light food?" she asked the group.

"Peach cobbler?" guessed Cherish Massey, 9, of Daytona Beach.

Well, not exactly. The peach is good, but...

That kind of thinking translates into problems later in life. Body mass index data show a significant portion of local students are at high risk for a problem that can afflict from the womb -- babies born to obese women are nearly twice as likely to die in the first year -- and hasten entrance into the tomb.

Last year's BMI data shows that 33 percent of Volusia elementary students are either overweight or obese. Among the county's middle school students, that number was 35 percent, with 18 percent of them classified as obese. In Flagler County, the data is not collected district wide, but the Wadsworth Elementary School nurse found in her data collection that 22 percent of the student body has BMI greater than what's recommended.

With budget cuts making all interscholastic sports "pay for play" in Volusia County -- along with other factors and new legislation allowing middle school kids to opt out of gym class new this year -- Forough Hosseini of Ormond Beach believes that economically disadvantaged children are disproportionately affected by this expanding problem. That's why her foundation, Food Brings Hope, has made last week's Westside event an annual one for the last four years.

"A lot of cheaper foods are starch-based and fatty," said Hosseini, a senior vice president at ICI homes in Daytona Beach. "Fruits and vegetables are more expensive than a potato and rice. A fast-food hamburger you can buy for $1."

Billy Washington, 11, who goes to school at Westside, said he's going to look for more color in his food: "I learned that I shouldn't eat white rice, but brown."

Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, chief of the Volusia County Health Department Chief, said a cultural shift has caused childhood obesity to triple in the last 30 years and it's going to take a cultural shift to undo it. Her chief targets? Larger food portions and the increase in screen time, whether it's a computer monitor or a TV.

"When I was young, a glass of soda that was 12 ounces was a normal serving." she said. "Now, how big are the Big Gulps?"

7-Eleven convenience stores have an array of them: a 32-ounce one, a 44-ouncer and the Super Big Gulp that's 64 ounces.

anne.geggis @news-jrnl.com

Judi Boone - a leader with Juice Plus speaks out to our children