The Utah Department of Health has been working on and talking about this issue for several years, Sundwall said.

What's necessary is a comprehensive effort, and that is under way, he said. "This will take a society-wide public response."

Two important projects are poised to take a bite out of child obesity.

Intermountain Healthcare and numerous doctors and experts have designed an obesity initiative that includes specific education tools for pediatricians, parents, children and schools.

Jackson is involved in this program. "The alarm has been raised, and it's nice to see that there are insurers that recognize the threat that this poses."

This "global fattening" is a great worry, Jackson said. Prevention is the key for everyone — it keeps participants healthy and saves the medical industry money.

The Utah Partnership for Healthy Weight — a state group — is working on a response to the problem that will involve state educators, tourism officials, agriculture officials, public parks and community leaders. "We want to be the first state in the country to reverse the trend of obesity," Sundwall said.

The only group not represented according to Sundwall? The food manufacturers association.

Eventually — as happened with tobacco use and drinking and driving — the public will become more aware of the obesity issue and will correct the behavior, Sundwall said.

Pauline Williams, a registered dietitian at Primary Children's Medical Center, leads one of several IHC weight-management classes that target the whole family's nutrition, physical activity and behavior.

She loves the example set by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who lost 100 pounds in a year and led a campaign in 2004 to get the whole state in better health.

"The question is," she says, "How do we do that here?"

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E-mail: lucy@desnews.com