A west Modesto community group is taking the lead in a campaign to promote exercise and healthy eating among children as a way to curb the growing health problems of obesity and diabetes.

The West Modesto/King Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative will work with the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency and Modesto City Schools on the campaign. The collaborative was among 12 groups invited to apply for five grants to be awarded by the California Endowment, so leaders hope for financial support that could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over four years. But the three agencies say they are committed regardless of whether they qualify for the grant.

The need is fairly obvious: Stanislaus County has the state's worst rate of coronary heart disease and among the worst for diabetes, two diseases closely associated with obesity. West Modesto has more unemployment and poverty than other parts of the city, and obesity is often associated with low income levels.

The attack has to be multipronged. Children need to get healthy choices at school, after school, at home and at community events. Exercise needs to be promoted from all sides, too.

The collaborative already offers a program called Kids Off the Couch, which focuses on nutritional foods and physical exercise. The health department has a variety of nutrition education programs, and the school district has moved to healthier choices, such as switching from white to wheat breads. The new effort will build on those efforts.

The ideas include promoting a walking club, establishing a farmers market in west Modesto and offering healthier foods at community events. Some of the ideas could challenge the status quo — abandoning candy fund-raisers, for example — and increase costs, such as for school lunches.

Ultimately, however, those are the kinds of changes that will be needed nationwide to address the obesity problem. We applaud west Modesto community leaders for trying to get started now.