It is 9 a.m. on a Thursday and Wiscasset Primary School is moving to the beat.

From the office, physical education teacher Linda Hanson leads the school through aerobic dance steps as music plays over the intercom. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Head Cook Theresa Meehan and her staff are cutting up kiwis, strawberries and oranges for lunch.

The fresh fruit and dancing is part of a county-wide partnership to improve wellness that is reaching 4,000 students. As part of Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 Lincoln County, schools like Wiscasset Primary, and other partners, including Lincoln County Healthcare, community organizations, day cares and businesses are working to reverse an increase in childhood obesity that threatens to worsen health outcomes and drive up healthcare costs in the decades ahead.

In Maine, about 28 percent of adolescents are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If current trends continue, a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found about 55 percent of Maine adults could be obese by 2030, greatly increasing the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes and other health problems for more than half the population.

Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0is a nationally recognized obesity prevention program brought to Lincoln County by Lincoln County Healthcare two years ago. The 5-2-1-0 stands for five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, two hours or less of recreational screen time, one hour or more of physical activity and zero sugary drinks.

In Wiscasset Primary School, Principal Cheryl Howe said Linda Hanson’s twice weekly morning exercises are making a difference.

“What is amazing to me is how much involvement there is, how much participation. There is something in the air on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings (when the school exercises together),” said Howe. “I would love to do this five days a week.”

Wiscasset Primary students are also creating their own healthy recipes and drinking water instead of soda and juice.

Howe believes the exercise and better nutrition is not only good for students’ health, it is also helping them learn and cope with stress and anxiety

Other Let’s Go partners are addressing wellness in different ways.

At the Boothbay Region Elementary School, a new greenhouse will grow vegetables for healthy snacks and school meals.

At the Central Lincoln County YMCA daycare in Nobleboro, children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day and only 100 percent juice, low-fat milk or water is available to drink. The Jefferson Village School is adding a greenhouse that can grow fresh vegetables year round and offering events that include physical activity for the entire family.

Trent Giles, Let’s Go Lincoln County Program Coordinator, said Let’s Go! gives schools a tool kit that includes proven strategies to encourage exercise or healthier eating.

“We can offer a network of resources to help them support their work and their efforts,” said Giles.

Wiscasset Primary School has been receptive from the very beginning.

“They have put in a lot of hard work, and their own ideas and initiative,” said Giles “They are doing it on top of their already-busy schedule, working within their budget and their time constraints. It is amazing to see the work and the passion they put into it.”

As she prepares for lunch, Meehan said her own emphasis on nutrition comes from her experience as a mother.

“I am a big believer that healthy eating helps their minds,” said Meehan.

Working more fresh fruit and produce into her menus requires a lot of work with local farms and suppliers to find produce that fits her budget and it also means plenty of persuasion and negotiation with her customers.

The first time students saw kale on their tray they said “'Ohhh it is leaves,'” said Meehan, but she convinced them to try a small portion and the next time many of them ate it all, she said.

As the school year comes to a close, she is already thinking about next year’s menus, and about exposing students to even more vegetables and different kinds of beans.

Students don’t always take to the change easily, but Meehan said that if she can coax them to try something new, they often surprise themselves by liking it.

And with each small change, attitudes are shifting, and that promises a healthier future not just for Wiscasset Primary School but the county as a whole.