Pre-teens kids who are struggling with being overweight can qualify for a free 12-week series of classes to help them get in shape.

The Strong Kids classes, offered at the Marysville YMCA, begins Monday. The goal is to help 20 kids between the ages of 8 and 11 find ways to become more active and make better eating choices.

“What we hope as instructors is for them to make behavioral changes for a lifetime,” said Caroline Brown, the organization’s health and fitness director.

There are three requirements to register for the program. Children must be referred to the program by their family physician. A parent must attend the classes with their child. Also, children must weigh in the upper 15th percentile of kids their age and height.

For example, an 11-year-old girl who is 4 feet, 2 inches and weighs 95 pounds would qualify for the program.

“If they can be physically active and eat healthy, it can help avoid a health issue,” such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, Brown said.

Being out of shape can hamper kids socially, such as not being picked for a team. “Their self-esteem goes down,” Brown said. “Poor self-esteem in the teen years can lead to other behavior issues.”

Dietitians will provide class members step-by-step tips on how to improve their eating habits. “It might be where you go through and clean out the cupboards of snacks that are too tempting,” Brown said.

Parents will be told the importance of making fitness a family activity, by taking such steps as a regular walk after dinner or setting a goal of a family play activity every weekend.

A psychologist will help with setting goals and identifying barriers to achieving fitness goals.

Participants can choose from a variety of exercise activities to find the ones that interest them, Brown said. Some of the offerings include jazzercise, kick ball, Latin dance aerobics and yoga.

Parents will be asked to be active for 15 minutes during the class sessions, unless they have health problems that prevent them from doing so.

Activities will be planned in which the parent and child can participate together, Brown said.

Both the child and the parent can use the YMCA for free while participating in the class.

The YMCA received a $10,000 grant from the Kimberly-Clark Corp. to offer the free program to children and their parents.

In January, the Strong Kids program will be expanded to all YMCA of Snohomish County branches, Brown said.