Class for Overweight Students at Ill. School Promotes Healthy Habits

By Ellen Flax

Antioch, ILL.--Although they may never appear in a Jane Fonda Exercise video, the students in Debbie Rummel's physical-education class here would be satisfied just to achieve the body of an average Jane or Joe.

The students, who are all overweight, are part of an innovative program at Antioch Community High School to help students lose their girth through exercise and a proper diet.

At least three days a week, the 21 girls and the single boy in Ms. Rummel's Physical Management class do fat-burning exercises, such as walking, running, or step aerobics, in an atmosphere that does not stigmatize them because they are heavy or lack the grace...