The wall stood on the side of the gym, an imposing figure for the students at Coralville Central Elementary.

Kelsey Schmitt, 9, a fourth-grader, took ahold of the grips along the wall and made her way sideways, sidestepping the “electric fences” that physical education teacher Karen Callaway had installed as added obstacles. Shimmying through them, she made it through fairly easily.

“(Callaway) challenges us just enough so we get through. We learn to be more brave,” Kelsey said.

The traverse wall® is one of the several innovations schools and physical education teachers in the Iowa City School District are employing to keep students active and away from a lifetime of inactivity and obesity. Nationwide, about 17 percent of children younger than 18 are considered overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. The condition generally has been caused by a lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits as society as a whole has become more inactive as young people play more video and computer games and watch more television, according to the Surgeon General’s office. Overweight and obese children and adolescents tend to have a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes, the office said.

While there are no solid figures on how fit students are in Iowa City Schools, children in the area are in relatively good shape, said Jan Grenko Lehman, Wood Elementary physical education teacher and coordinator of physical education for the district.

“Of course, you’d like it not to be a problem at all, but there is a small percentage” who are not fit, she said. “Our plan is to stay ahead of it and implement some things so it doesn’t become an epidemic.”

This includes having the students play games in physical education class and providing venues to work out before and after school. Several elementaries, such as Hoover and Longfellow have running clubs, while schools like Wood Elementary have a jump rope club. During the recent renovations at City High, a cardiovascular room, complete with stationary bikes and treadmills, was installed, using money from a federal physical education grant, Grenko Lehman said.

“Different schools will have different activities to keep kids active,” she said.

The federal grant also helped buy the computer software that district teachers will use to conduct fitness tests of students. The tests will examine students’ cardiovascular health, as well as flexibility, upper body strength and body mass index - one of the key components in determining if a person is obese. Parents then will receive the reports during upcoming parent-teacher conferences or in the year-end report in May, Grenko Lehman said.

The effort includes a traverse wall® at Coralville Central Elementary. Purchased for about $9,000, the wall was installed in the school’s new gymnasium when it opened in January 2006. Students can climb up and across the wall, working around obstacles.

“It seemed like a cool thing to have,” P.E. teacher Karen Callaway said. “You can work on strength and flexibility.”

The wall has proven to be a hit among Coralville Central students, who clamor and line up for good chances to climb it.

“It’s fun and it’s hard,” said Matt Birely, 9, a fourth-grader. “I think we have some good accessories that help with flexibility. I think the challenges are the best part.”

Grenko Lehman said there are plans to install a climbing wall at another undisclosed elementary school later this year. She also said the district and community can come forward with more ways to keep youth physically active, including building new gymnasiums at schools. Currently, nine of the district’s 18 elementaries have single multi-purpose rooms that double as gymnasiums and lunchrooms, curtailing exercise opportunities for students. Grenko Lehman said the new gyms at schools like Coralville Central and Van Allen elementaries are helping more students get their exercise.

“When you add that, you get kids more chances to move,” she said. “I think (building a new gym is) a vision for each building because they know it’s important.”