At Olympus Junior High, students were invited with their families to a Tuesday night screening of "Killer at Large," a 2008 documentary produced by local filmmakers about the obesity epidemic that features the story of a 12-year-old girl who undergoes surgery to deal with her weight.

Bryan Young, the film's producer, said a teacher at the school was enthusiastic about its message after having seen it previously. The film was screened in Salt Lake City last summer and has been shown on both coasts, with an official premiere last fall in New York.

"It got a standing ovation, and there was an hour-long Q-and-A afterwards," Young said. "Generally, the film has been well received by people who understand this is a great problem in our culture. We're the heaviest population in the history of the world, and there's a reason for it."

Young said filmmakers were invited by school officials to present the film, and other schools are beginning to take an interest. As a result, "we'll be coming out soon with a short version designed for teachers that have 45 minutes of class time. That 20-minute version will be available for free to teachers across the country," on the film's Web site, www.killeratlarge.com.

While one segment showing surgery on the 12-year-old "is a little hard to watch, and was certainly hard to film," Young said he believes it was important "to include something that would make people understand how far some are going to deal with the weight problem.

"It's not our job to say it's right or wrong, but people are approaching their problems in that way. They took 35 pounds of fat off her, did a tummy tuck and took 10 more pounds off. She ended up gaining the weight back."

The film features several national figures speaking about the obesity epidemic, including former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who has said America's most pressing issue is obesity.

"It's the terror within," Carmona said in the film. "It's destroying us from within, and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of (its consequences) will dwarf 9/11."

Healthy habits

A public-service campaign geared at teens is asking them to:

1. Always eat a healthy breakfast.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

3. Limit or eliminate sweetened drinks.

4. Limit time on TV, video games and the Internet.

5. Increase physical activity to at least 60 minute per day.

6. Eat meals sitting down as a family without TV.

7. Be positive about food; don't use it as a reward or punishment.

8. Don't criticize about weight — yours or others.

E-MAIL: carrie@desnews.com