Middle schools key in battling obesity.

Byline: Jillian Cohan

Oct. 30--The ball game lasted until dark or dinner, whichever came first.

Or maybe it was the tree-climbing escapade, the bike-riding expedition or the driveway basketball game.

Playing outside is one of those sepia-toned memories adults invoke as a symbol of childhood -- one that's increasingly rare.

"Children are living very sedentary lifestyles. When they leave school, they go home to TV, computers and video games. It's not safe to play outside like it used to be," said Kim Morrissey, a local physical-education teacher and an instructor at Wichita State University.

Faced with a looming obesity crisis, health experts and educators are turning to middle school as a place for prevention.

Kansas doesn't require PE in seventh or eighth grade, but state Health Department data shows that's when kids are at risk for becoming overweight, probably because they're less active and more likely to make poor food choices.

"The statistics are frightening," Marcia Nielsen, executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority, told Topeka lawmakers recently at a planning session.

Since 1980, the…