Each day after school, Bobby Hudson keeps learning.

So far this semester, the 8-year-old Bath Township resident has discovered how to play squash and handball, found out that he can run 14 laps around a gym without breaking a sweat and determined that playing video games does not count as physical activity.

Hudson is a participant in a new after-school health and fitness program at the Michigan Athletic Club. The program, called MAC After School, kicked off at the start of this school year and seeks to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles among students 5-12 years old. The program is designed for children at any level of fitness.

Daren Hill, programs director for the Michigan Athletic Club, 2900 Hannah Blvd., said young people are not getting enough physical activity, which could lead to bigger problems such as obesity and diabetes during childhood and into adulthood. He designed MAC After School as part of what he calls a "crusade" to help area youth become healthier.

"Our goal is just to create the top after-school program in the county," Hill said. "It follows our desire to get kids active and to catch them at an early age where we can hopefully change their habits for a lifetime."

At MAC After School, the instructors try to strike a balance between work and play. While the after-school program's activities vary between sessions, the program follows a particular format each day.

The first hour focuses on physical activity such as obstacle courses, gymnastics or martial arts, and the second hour is devoted to quiet time when students can read or do homework. Occasionally the staff will promote discussion on other aspects of health and fitness by reviewing basic concepts such as the food pyramid.

"We try to arrange it so it doesn't ever get boring, so the kids are always excited about health and fitness," said Robert Hudson, director of MAC After School, whose sons Bobby and Brandon are enrolled in the program. "We try to keep it varied."

The program's instructors try to involve participants' parents as much as possible in order to help the children achieve better results. Program schedules are sent home with the children each week for parental review, and parents are encouraged to continue activity once their children come home.

In 2002, inactivity was found to be responsible for an estimated $8.9 billion in health care costs in Michigan, with $300 million in Ingham County alone, according to a report by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness. Nationally, the problem with inactivity among young people has led to an increase in childhood obesity during the last few decades.

Between 1976 and 2000, the percent of obese young people ages 6-19 rose from about 6 percent to more than 15 percent, according to the American Obesity Association. Obesity is determined by Body Mass Index, or BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height. A BMI of more than 30 is considered obese.

Childhood obesity is difficult to measure at the state and county level because of testing expenses and the need for parental consent. For adults, Michigan was the second heaviest state in the country in 2000, with more than 61 percent of residents overweight or obese, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although heath experts support promoting physical activity and other components of healthy lifestyles to children and adolescents, some pointed out that certain tactics might eventually backfire.

Ronda Bokram, a registered dietitian and staff nutritionist at Olin Health Center, said making weight an issue for young people might cause them to become overly concerned about nutrition, leading to larger ramifications as they age.

"By the time these kids get to college, I'll start noticing more eating disorders," she said. "I've seen more students in the last three to five years with really restricted eating or eating disorders."

Bokram works to help MSU students cope with dietary problems and understand healthy nutrition. She said a common problem with students' perceptions of healthy lifestyles is that many equate being healthy with expensive gym memberships and costly exercise programs.

"When you look at weight issues and how they're traditionally handled in this country, it's always about paying money to do something extra - something you do for awhile and then can't continue doing," she said.

MAC After School, which runs from 4-6 p.m. every school day, costs $70 per week for club members and $80 per week for nonmembers. Parents also have the option of paying a daily rate of $15 for members and $17 for nonmembers. The fee includes transportation from the child's school to the club.

Hill said when parents look at the program's cost, they should consider that their children will be learning important health objectives.

"For what the kids get in return, it's a phenomenal value," he said. "What we wanted to do was take the after-school concept, which is care for kids, and make it the highest quality that we could."

Bokram said families don't necessarily need to spend money in order to be active. She said it is more important that parents are models of balanced behavior.

"People need to learn how to be really active without having to go somewhere to do it," Bokram said. "You have to internalize the desire to be active.

"You've got to change the home environment."

Some state experts said video games, computers and television are often blamed for the increasing sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy weight levels among children and teens, but noted that parental involvement - or lack thereof - can have just as much of an impact on youth health.

"I think parents are complacent about the problem," said Marcus Cheatham, health analyst for the Ingham County Health Department. "Parents believe it's more important for their kids to get A's in school than to have healthy bodies."

Williamston resident Ric Pelkey said the interaction his son receives in MAC After School has been beneficial.

"We're a very active family," he said. "But this gives him a chance to be with kids his own age."

Health experts said activity levels and weight issues can vary in different demographics depending on circumstances such as education, income and which part of the country a person lives in, but some said the best methods to deal with such issues are still being determined.

"There's so many factors that the picture is still fuzzy except for one thing - it's a serious problem," Cheatham said. "These problems are very, very deep and they cut to the heart of our values and ideas as to what healthy lifestyles are.

"These are really profound problems that can't be fixed by one program."

Emily Bingham is The State News projects reporter. Reach her at binghame@msu.edu