Jed Smith recently returned to Iowa after observing China's sporting culture at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

He noticed a stark contrast in the level of obesity in each area's teenagers.

While the Chinese are just now experiencing the occasional expanded waistline brought about by Kentucky Fried Chicken's on virtually every corner, young Americans - even high school athletes - are in the thick of a decades-long battle of the bulge.

"I was in China for three weeks," said Smith, Northern Iowa's strength and conditioning coach, "and I didn't see the problems with obesity here.

"It's a big problem in America, and it's a big problem with youths today," he added. "It's just the American culture - it's the fast-food nation and the computer nation."

Nowhere is that more apparent than on Iowa's high school football fields. A study of 3,683 Iowa preps conducted by Iowa State University found that 45 percent of linemen qualified as overweight last year - and nearly one in 10 was deemed dangerously overweight.

Evolving, or expanding?

"It used to be, 220 was a really big person," said Cedar Falls football coach Pat Mitchell, scanning his roster. "Now, 280 is nothing.

"There's some really big young people."

Though Mitchell considers few of his Tigers overweight, he acknowledged that at least two of his players weigh more than 300 pounds.

Every Class 4A school seems to have at least one player with jaw-dropping dimensions these days.

"Wahlert always has a kid 6-foot-7, or 6-8," Mitchell said, noting that 6-7, 300-pound tackle Drew Davis anchored the Dubuque school's line last year.

"Twenty years ago you never saw that. We have some guys this year that are, wow, really big people."

Large players aren't just isolated in the state's biggest schools, either. Hampton-Dumont, a high school with 428 students, has eight players who weigh 220 pounds or more, a total that represents nearly one-fifth of the Bulldogs' roster.

Research shows that the average weight of a U.S. male increased from 166 to 191 pounds in the last 50 years.

And, during that same time frame, obesity rates tripled for American adolescents.

In general, football players' girth has grown immensely in just two decades. In 1988, the heaviest Iowa Hawkeye was offensive lineman Bob Kratch, who checked in at 288 pounds.

Just 20 years later, 19 Hawkeyes weighed 280 or more this month, with nine of those earth-movers tipping the scales at 300-plus - including 6-8, 318-pound behemoth Wesley Aeschliman, a senior tackle from Bloomfield.

To a slight extent, evolution can explain some of the aforementioned numbers. Yet, Waterloo pediatrician Dr. Brian Sims said adolescents' current lethargic lifestyles are often to blame.

"Twenty and thirty years ago, kids could run and play (outside) all day, and now we're worried about their safety," Sims explained. "And they have a lot more channels on TV. They're doing a lot more sedentary things."

Decorah's 6-7, 255-pound standout, Brett Van Sloten, is one prep putting weight on the right way. Van Sloten, who is being recruited as an offensive line prospect by Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Kansas, eats around 4,500 calories a day, but avoids empty calories and works out rigorously.

"I try to eat a balanced meal at every sitting," Van Sloten said. "The (college) coaches I talked to … they say to stay healthy. They say, 'We'll put the weight on when we get you.'"

Problematic thought processes?

Most who have studied the subject agree that prep linemen often have misguided meal plans.

These days, young linemen are barraged with ESPN reports on stars like Kris Jenkins - an NFL defensive tackle who once weighed 415 pounds and recently signed a $35 million contract. But coaches insist that an expanded waistline won't necessarily increase a player's future prospects.

"The game of football is changing," said South Hardin of Eldora's Randy Tjaden, a varsity coach since 1988.

"I don't think (college coaches) are looking for 300-pounders," Tjaden added. "They're looking for the 240-pounder that's ripped and can run. It's a speed game."

Smith, the college assistant, agreed, noting that Panthers like Chad Rinehart have worked their way to the NFL's trenches after arriving at college weighing barely 235 pounds.

Northeast Iowa coaches almost unanimously agree that performance-enhancing drugs are nearly non-existent on Iowa's prep playing fields.

For the record, Alan Beste, an IHSAA official, said the state doesn't test prep athletes for steroids, since "Chapter 808A (of the Iowa Code) prohibits it as illegal search and seizure."

Some coaches suggest that supplements are the main cause for concern.

Ubiquitous powders and shakes, like creatine and protein mixes, promise to deliver increased muscle mass, yet usually aren't evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Supplements like creatine have been in Iowa's prep football locker rooms for nearly a decade now.

"Kids don't understand how to … eat the proper foods," said UNI's Smith, "so supplements exist. "A lot of that stuff out there doesn't even work, it's just placebo and people trying to make money."

Smith, who also teaches masters-level exercise science courses, said supplements are usually OK - in moderation.

"Anything in excess is a problem," he concluded. "And Americans usually think, 'More is better' so they kind of overdo it."

"We try to stress to our kids, 'Leave the junk alone,'" explained Dike-New Hartford coach Don Betts. "That's going to do you the most good - short term, as well as long term."

Obviously, college scholarships can be the end result of years of bulking up for prep gridders. Yet, so can a laundry list of other possible outcomes - like eventual bouts with Type 2 diabetes, high blood-pressure and eating disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"It's a major concern," Mitchell said. "If you have (potential) health issues, I don't know a coach that wouldn't be concerned."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com