"One parent said her kid hadn't eaten a veggie in years."

"I had a kid ask if the carrots were real. I'm not sure she had ever seen one."

"One kid told me, 'I only like sugar.' And I said, 'Well, look. These are sugar snap peas.'"

But Mia Chabot, Michelle Tulley, Becca Wright and Stephanie Lu, all with UNC's Nutrition Coalition, weren't in a Third World nation studying undernourished youth. They were in Durham at the Museum of Life and Science volunteering with the second annual Kids in the Kitchen exhibition sponsored by the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties. About 450 local kids -- and some of their parents -- got a chance to examine such exotic foods as carrots and snap peas close up. They even got a chance to taste them and, at various mini-kitchens in the museum, to discover ways to turn nourishing flora into tasty treats.

In the ongoing battle to get kids to eat better food, teaching them to make their own snacks and meals using healthful ingredients is a popular strategy. The Kids in the Kitchen event, like many aimed at getting kids to eat more healthfully, targeted the consumer, a consumer known for liking to have a say in things.

"They like the hands-on," said Meghan Payne, a Junior League volunteer manning the trail mix station. "Maybe if they can make it they'll be more apt to eat it."

A quick recap of the declining state of our children's health:

• Ten percent of 2- to 5-year-olds and more than 15 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight.
• In North Carolina, 19.3 percent of children are overweight, making the state fifth nationally in terms of overweight kids.
• For the first time in more than 100 years, the life expectancy of U.S. kids is declining, according to a 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It's a nationally recognized problem, this alarming growth of our youths' waistlines. Alarming and perplexing, considering WakeMed pediatric dietitian Julie Paul's take on the matter:

"For the most part, kids are really good at self-monitoring based on their appetite."

The problem?

Paul, like most pediatric dietitians, knows where a big part of the problem lies. "One of the biggest obstacles we face is parents who are not willing to be the role model."

"Parents can be very set in their ways," agrees Ashleigh Miles, a nutritionist with Rex Healthcare in Raleigh. "If we can grab the kids in elementary school and teach them, they can actually convince their parents."

"Getting the parents involved is definitely key," says Liz Watt with UNC's Meadowmont Wellness Center.

The nutritionists want to make clear that they aren't pointing fingers. "They have a lot going on already with busy schedules," says Paul, who has three kids. "They aren't going to go to the store and read nutrition labels.

"I like to make it as easy as possible on them," says Paul, who works largely with kids at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

To that end, we asked the dietitians to give some direction -- both to parents and to their kids. Direction on what's good to eat, what's not and -- perhaps most important from the kids' standpoint -- what's good that tastes good, too.

"Kids are people pleasers," says Paul. "If you tell them this is good for you, this is good for your body, they get excited.

"They're more open to try new things."

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