A state senator is taking aim again at the growing weight problem among Georgia's children, with a bill that calls for measuring students' weights and promoting more physical activity at school.

Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton,) plans to introduce the bill Thursday morning at a press conference. A coalition of doctors, health organizations and physical education advocates are backing the bill.

It would require schools to measure students' body mass index, used to determine whether someone is at a healthy weight. That proposal proved so controversial two years ago that another legislator who called for including that information on students' report cards quickly withdrew her bill.

Under Carter's bill, results from the twice-a-year screenings would be mailed to parents only on request. Otherwise, students' results would be lumped together to monitor the health status of the school and of the state's children as a whole.

Another provision would require school districts to follow state Department of Education regulations on physical education for elementary students. Those require 90 hours annually of P.E. and health, which works out to 30 minutes daily. Many schools don't meet that requirement, according to two studies performed in Georgia school districts in the past five years.

Those studies also found that Georgia's children are overweight and out of shape. More than half of 5,000 students tested in the 2007 Georgia Youth Fitness Assessment were so out of breath they couldn't finish a running exercise. Nearly 37 percent of Georgia children are considered overweight or obese, according to a 2003 study from the University of Georgia and the Georgia Prevention Institution at the Medical College of Georgia.

Most overweight children don't outgrow their excess pounds, and may acquire obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and other lifelong illnesses.

Carter introduced a bill two years ago that required more P.E. for elementary and middle school students. But after art and music teachers rallied against the effort, he changed the wording to encourage rather than require more hours. Those teachers cited concerns that fine arts classes would be trimmed to make more time for P.E.

Childhood obesity rates have continued to inch up since then, Carter said. He's calling on the legislature to take a stand this session.

"We didn't get here overnight, and we're not going to fix it overnight," Carter said. "But we have to begin to address this problem in Georgia."

Bill Burns, Georgia advocacy director for the American Heart Association, has been monitoring a legislative task force that studied childhood obesity and diabetes. The Heart Association is targeting childhood obesity and worked with a coalition of other health and physical activity organizations to support stepped-up government efforts to address the problem. They're backing the bill.

"While we recognize it's not the end game solution, it's an excellent step in the right direction," Burns said.