A panel of Georgia health care, educational and religious leaders issued an “urgent” call Friday for the African-American community to take steps to reduce what former U.S.

Surgeon General David Satcher described as an “obesity epidemic” among black children.

Satcher, now at the Morehouse School of Medicine, said obesity among blacks becomes a problem for many as young as age 2.

He told an audience of primarily educators and doctors that African-Americans are killing themselves by eating too much unhealthy food and by failing to exercise. At what was billed as a town hall meeting sponsored by TV personality Tavis Smiley and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Satcher said schools must buck government guidelines and provide healthier lunches, encourage more exercise and stress the importance of a good diet.

Smiley moderated the panel, which included Dr. James R. Gavin III, a clinical professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine; Yvonne Butler-Sanders, principal of Browns Mill Elementary; and the Rev. Cynthia Hale of Ray of Hope Christian Church.

Childhood obesity among all races is a major health threat that affects an estimated nine million U.S. children older than 6, and the consequences are painfully evident, Satcher said. Overweight children, especially African-Americans, are being diagnosed with health conditions previously considered adult illnesses.

Obesity rates in the United States have more than doubled among black children ages 2-5 and more than tripled among those 6-11 in the past three decades, Satcher said.

It’s not just African-American youths who are getting too big, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There are significant differences among race and ethnic groups,” said Karen Hunter, a CDC spokeswoman. “Among boys, prevalence of overweight is significantly higher among Mexican-Americans than non-Hispanic black or white boys.”

CDC officials report 23 percent of black girls 6-11 are overweight, compared to 13 percent for whites and 17 percent for Mexican-Americans. Fourteen percent of white boys in the same age group are overweight, compared with 17 percent of blacks and 26.5 percent of Mexican-Americans. Nationally among all races and both sexes, 19 percent of youths 6-11 are overweight.

Dr. Flavia Mercado, director of the Department of Multicultural Affairs at Grady Health System, said about 33 percent of Georgia elementary school children are too heavy. She offered no comparative data, but a firm that does, Kids Count - a project of the Annie E. Case Foundation that tracks the status of children in the United States - reports that 32 percent of Georgia youths 10-17 are overweight. Among the healthy states Georgia ranks 36th. Utah, which ranks No. 1 for the fewest number of overweight youths, reports only 21 percent in that age group are overweight.

Friday’s “Road to Health” expo at the Georgia International Convention Center attracted hundreds of visitors. On one end, rap artists showed youths how to exercise by dancing and extolled the virtues of healthy eating, and the kids loved it.

“I came here to see how we could get healthy - eat more vegetables and stuff like that,” said Adrianna McClure, 13.

Atlanta R&B singer Bobby Valentino urged the youths to avoid fried foods. Another artist, Lyfe Jennings, said he’s a vegetarian and starts every day with exercise. Then both sang and danced.

Smiley, who appeared in both settings at the expo, was intent on making sure the main message came through that African-Americans must work together.

Butler-Sanders said schools, like churches, must play a key role in fighting the war on fat among blacks. “If you don’t change the way your children are eating, you will bury them,” she said.

The panelists agreed that it’s up to the black community to come together to battle the burgeoning problem, which includes controlling their children’s’ TV time. Hale said in the African-American community, churches are critical in spreading the word of eating smart and exercising.

Faith Dawson and Bill Hendrick write for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.