COEUR d'ALENE - Rather than focusing on breaking bad habits as they develop in youngsters, community health specialists in North Idaho are taking a different tack.

They're bringing a message about healthy eating and the importance of physical activity to some of the youngest citizens - preschoolers.

"It's better to teach a good habit very early," said Lisa Gardom, coordinator of the Color Me Healthy program offered by Panhandle Health District.

Getting hungry kids to reach for more fruits and vegetables, and to get more exercise, is the Color Me Healthy campaign's first goal. Its second goal is to raise awareness about childhood obesity in Idaho's five northern counties.

Based on a national model, the program is being funded by a $50,000 grant from the Idaho Community Foundation, with a pledge to fund the program at the same level for two more years.

Gardom said that many childhood obesity efforts are directed at school age children, not preschoolers.

"It's kind of a forgotten age," Gardom said.

The Centers for Disease Control's statistics show that 10- to- 20 percent of kids entering preschools in North Idaho counties are already overweight or obese.

Color Me Healthy lessons and materials are provided free of charge to licensed child care providers, along with incentives for the adults to earn continuing education credits. There are evaluation follow-ups to gauge the program's effectiveness.

More than 50,000 child care providers nationwide use the Color Me Healthy program, and 95 percent give it high marks.

While the program is aimed at kids in licensed child care, the effort is not just meant to reach the very young.

One of the program sections focuses on the child care givers themselves, Gardom said.

"It offers changes they can make and model for the kids," she said. "You can say something as many times as you want, but it doesn't always make a difference unless you're doing it yourself."

To raise awareness of childhood obesity beyond the preschools, the program offers community outreach efforts involving parents, local grocery stores, pediatricians' offices and the media.

The Coeur d'Alene Press has partnered with program coordinators to publish a Color Me Healthy kids' page two times a month during the summer. Featuring recipes, poems and activities, the first Press Color Me Healthy kids' page can be found in today's Lifestyles section. Another page is scheduled to run June 23.

- On the web:

www.colormehealthy.com