Third-graders Lisa Day, left, and Danielle Monen not only have fun while traversing a climbing wall at Lawton Elementary in Seattle but also get a full-body workout. Monen wears a blindfold for greater challenge.

THIS COULD BE a golden age for physical education.

The need is clear: Rising numbers of overweight children, so widespread it's been labeled "globesity." An alarming increase of youngsters with Type 2 diabetes, formerly called the "adult-onset" variety. The persistent lure of television, computers and video games - to kids these days, "play" more often refers to Nintendo or a button on a remote control than any kind of outdoor activity.

The willingness to help is there: New-style PE classes emphasize physical activity, self-improvement and the involvement of all students.

What seems like a perfect match, though, is often a miss. Daily physical education has become the exception. In 1991, 42 percent of schools nationwide required PE each day; now it's 25 percent, and Illinois is the only state that mandates it. Washington state requires students in kindergarten through 8th grades to average 100 minutes a week, and those in high school to have health and fitness instruction for two years. But many schools are not in compliance, and many students get waivers to skip PE class.

Why the disconnect?

Certainly the current and understandable push to improve reading and math scores has put a premium on time and resources. But studies have shown that exercise improves learning in other subjects. And the consequences of a sedentary life are no mystery: After smoking, physical inactivity is the single largest health-risk factor in this country today.

Fitness news you can use On the shelves "Stretching" by Bob Anderson ($14.95, Shelter Publications). The 20th anniversary revised edition has new illustrations by Jean Anderson, and adds 11 everyday routines, 14 sports routines, mini-routines for each sport, and addresses warming up before stretching, new stretching techniques and body tools. "Stretching for Health" by Jerry Weinert and Jill Bielawski ($14.95, Contemporary Books). Despite the title, about a third of this book addresses general health and fitness. Another third deals with specific problems (arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, headache, neck pain, rotator cuff, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel, low back pain, shinsplints, plantar fasciitis) and the final part describes techniques of active-isolated stretching for targeted body parts and for specific sports, occupations and daily activities. "Relax Into Stretch" by Pavel Tsatsouline ($34.95, Dragon Door Publications). A former physical-training instructor for the Soviet Special Forces says super-flexibility is possible for anyone who learns to inhibit the natural stretch reflex, stays relaxed, and repeats and extends stretching exercises. He recommends stretches for children, teens, adults, seniors and the injured. "Beth Shaw¹s YogaFit" ($17.95, Human Kinetics). Shaw, who owns a studio in Hermosa Beach, Calif., combines aerobic exercise with several yoga programs for workouts that focus more on sweat than meditation. "Mind-Body Fitness For Dummies" by Therese Iknoian ($19.99, IDG Books). Another in the " . . . For Dummies" series, this is a sampler of yoga, tai chi chuan, qigong, Pilates, the Feldenkrais Method, the Alexander Technique, Laban Movement Analysis and other alternative venues for exercise and body work. "Fit Over 40 For Dummies" by Betsy Nagelsen McCormack with Mike Yorkey ($19.99, IDG Books). Nagelsen McCormack, a former touring tennis pro, spans the fitness world keeping novice exercisers in mind, including training basics, equipment, clothing, shoes, clubs, worksite workouts, home gyms, sports, injuries, diet, hydration and massage. "Turn Off The Fat Genes" by Neal Barnard ($23.95, Harmony Books). Barnard, an M.D. and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, contends that unlike genes that determine eye color, genes that guide our size and shape are open to suggestion. He emphasizes understanding and controlling five key groups: taste, fat-storing, fat-burning and exercise genes, and appetite-taming hormones. A three-week gene-control diet makeover, based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes, eliminates animal products and added oils and includes more than 150 recipes.

Old-style PE might even be a partial source of today's problems. Geared toward sports and calisthenics, it favored those already athletic. The remaining students tended to become discouraged and alienated, desperately hoping not to be picked last when choosing up sides, rarely being passed the ball as their more coordinated peers demonstrated and dominated. Staple games included Dodge Ball and Soak 'Em, in which success meant beaning another student. Competitions pitted one individual or group against another, often leaving half the class feeling like losers.

No wonder many people today - including legislators, policy-makers and voters - have less-than-fond memories of PE, and no small number have a hate-hate relationship with any kind of exercise.

If they got out a bit and saw some of the ways today's educators are exploring new avenues to physical activity, they might be tempted to join in right then and there.

At La Conner Elementary School, PE teacher Julie Johnson has taught exercise routines to fifth graders, who fan out into classrooms every morning to lead a 10-minute all-school exercise program, accompanied by music piped in over the PA system. Every two to three weeks the program changes, from aerobics, for example, to strength training using cans of food, which then are donated to the local food bank. The sessions are so popular, says principal Peg Seeling, "It's actually cut down on our tardiness."

At Franklin Elementary in Pullman, first graders in Jayme Reiber's class are trying a program called "Brain Gym," which uses simple, fun movements to increase body awareness and enhance learning. The Calf Pump not only exercises the calf muscles but also helps ease fidgeting leading up to lessons that require focus or careful listening.

At Lawton Elementary and 24 other Seattle public schools, children eagerly clamber across horizontal rock climbing walls, installed behind those protective pads that hang at the end of gym walls. At first it's enough just getting from one end to the other without touching the ground. Then teachers increase these workouts-in-disguise by specifying the use of certain holds or linking up with a partner to stage a mock "rescue" of another student, developing not only strength and endurance but also cooperation and problem solving.

Education officials are working on statewide fitness assessments, perhaps by next spring, to help schools measure, evaluate and plan their PE programs. Nationally, teachers and administrators are applying for federal grants from a $5 million fund established by last year's federal Physical Education for Progress (PEP) Act, which they hope will be expanded to $400 million over five years.

And maybe, just maybe, we all might find that a solid foundation for a physically active, nutritionally aware way of living can produce generations of folks who aren't easily enticed by infomercial sales pitches, 4-minute workout machines, miracle diets and fat-burning supplements.

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. She can be reached by calling 206-464-8243 or writing mmartin@seattletimes.com or The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98101. Barry Wong is a Seattle Times photographer.