COLUMBIA - It's hardly news that many young Americans are losing a battle of the bulge: Half of all U.S. children are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2010.

But a University of South Carolina psychology professor's research points to a new approach in motivating kids to develop more physically active lifestyles. It's called Project ACT - Active by Choice Today - and Dr. Dawn Wilson is leading a team of university researchers in a five-year, $3 million National Institutes of Health study at 24 middle schools in South Carolina. Currently, they are working with schools in Sumter, Florence, Orangeburg, Richland and Kershaw counties, with plans to work with more schools in Richland county, as well as schools in Fairfield and Calhoun counties.

"Childhood obesity, especially among minority populations, has become a major health risk for diabetes and hypertension," Wilson said. "We're trying an innovative approach that emphasizes motivational theory and behavioral skills through creative play. It's grounded in the idea that physical activity should be fun."

Project ACT was launched after a small study of two schools produced significant results. In that four-week intervention, students chose the physical activities they wanted to engage in and demonstrated a surprising level of participation that resulted in increased levels of physical activity.

The student-centered program starts out with one hour of non-competitive play, perhaps a made-up game that could be replicated at home with junk items.

"We follow that up with a half hour of discussion on how they can take the games home and encourage other kids in their neighborhoods to play," Wilson said.

The study, which focuses on about 65 children in each of the middle schools, also includes one-on-one interviews with the students to help reinforce their commitment to being active people.

To measure the real effectiveness of the creative play approach, investigators have each participating student wear accelerometers for seven-day periods three times per year.

"There are pitfalls with self reporting," Wilson said. "Participants can overestimate the amount of time spent in physical activity. The accelerometer measures exactly how active they are throughout the day."

Half the schools in the study are randomly selected for a comparison program that promotes general health. The students in these programs receive instruction in nutrition, life skills, stress management and risk prevention.

"The schools love it because both programs offer a great curriculum for improving health and lifestyle skills among under-served sixth graders," Wilson said.

Project ACT is in its fourth year, and Wilson is looking ahead to follow-up studies to measure the long-term impact of the program. As part of a supplemental grant, Wilson has interviewed minority parents about the impact of the program. Early findings indicate that parents think the program is worthwhile and that the children have motivated their family to be more active.

Wilson said she also is receiving positive feedback from teachers who have said that the program has helped build stronger relationships with the students and boosted morale in the schools. Some teachers even reported losing as much as 20 pounds.

"What we're hoping for, of course, are real lifestyle changes that result in kids becoming more physically active for a lifetime," Wilson said. "The alternative is taking in too many calories, not burning enough, and becoming overweight. It's really that simple."

The university's research team also includes Dr. Russ Pate, exercise science; Dr. Ruth Saunders, health promotion, education and behavior; Dr. Cheryl Addy, epidemiology and biostatistics; Dr. Lee Van Horn, psychology; Brent Hutto, prevention research center; Dr. Heather Kitzman- Ulrich, psychology; and Gary Mixon, Sumter County Parks and Recreation.