Orange County Unified School District Uses New Strategy to Help Obese Students
Tesoro High School Gym Teacher Helps Teens Stay Fit
John Gipe used to be overweight in high school. He heard his teachers call him heavy and he knows how obese students in the Orange County Schools feel. Gipe has been teaching physical education for over twenty years and was preparing for retirement but was concerned about the increasing number of overweight teens at Tesoro High School, part of the Orange County School District. He knows from personal experience that being overweight in your teen years can have lifelong affects on your health, such as knee and back problems as an adult.
He made a decision to try and do something to help these students. Gipe saw that the traditional focus on team sports in physical education was not keeping students fit. Gipe and a local Rancho Santa Margarita pediatrician created the Body Composition class. This class isnt just for the obese but is a response to the increasing sedentary lifestyle lead by todays teens. The class is based on and uses the same type of techniques and work as modern health clubs. This includes learning about...