BOSTON -- Among 4-year-olds, one in five is considered obese. But the city of Boston wants to change that statistic.

As NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported Wednesday, there's a city new program to prevent childhood obesity.

According to Boston health officials, the future of Boston's youngest residents is not good. Three in five children in the ABCD Head Start Program in Boston is overweight.

"These children go on to have significant morbidity their entire life," said Dr. James Mandell, CEO of Children's Hospital Boston.

In an effort to get kids healthier, Northeastern University, the Boston Red Sox and Children's Hospitals have launched a pilot program, Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures, to prevent childhood obesity.

"We can't do it alone," said Mandell.

The program targets preschool-age children enrolled in the ABCD Head Start Program. It's focused on developing good eating habits and getting kids to exercise.

"The program will offer parents and other caregivers free education workshops on how they can make changes to promote healthier behavior," said Boston's Mayor Tom Menino.

"They have given us recipes that we can use to enhance better eating for me and my family," said Diana Salazar, a mother who has a 5-year-old enrolled in Head Start.

"I just learned how to eat properly, and I want to instill that in my grandchildren so that they can have this stability in their life," said Ruth Steen, a grandmother with two grandchildren in Head Start.

The program is also offering free open gym sessions for children ages 3-8 and their parents in order to promote exercise.

"It's really for young children to be there with their parents. And that's really the key to get used to being active again," said Dr. Shari Nethersole, an attending physician at Children's Hospital Boston.