Youth work on good nutrition, fitness

Michael Miller

To a passing motorist, it’s nearly impossible to see -- a small

cluster of gym rooms in the back end of Rea Elementary School, behind

a cracked blacktop and chain-link fences. The athletic facilities are

tight as well: a weight area with room for fewer than a dozen

students and a cardio center crammed into a former shower room.

For the participants in Save Our Youth’s summer Fitness and

Nutrition Program, however, the tiny athletic center opens up to

larger possibilities and a chance to finally get into shape.

“Summer is usually a slow time for us, but this program adds a

focus,” Save Our Youth Executive Director Trevor Murphy said. “We

want to change the mentality. We want kids in this community to think

more about health and fitness than they do.”

On Tuesday, Murphy and personal trainer Mike Nametz launched the

eight-week Fitness and Nutrition Program, which takes participants

through a crash course in weights, cardio training and nutrition. The

program, funded by a $27,924 grant from the California Endowment,

opened with nearly 20 Costa Mesa schoolchildren -- and even one

parent -- in attendance.

The program is free to all Save Our Youth members, who must attend

secondary school at any campus in Costa Mesa. Apart from exercising,

students enrolled in the program keep daily logs of meals and snacks,

and also attend community health meetings once a month with a

bilingual nutritionist.

When Save Our Youth opened its doors in the early 1990s, it sought to divert children from gangs in Costa Mesa’s least-affluent area.

Since then, the area has improved substantially, as many Save Our

Youth members have gone on to graduate from high school and college.

On Tuesday, with the sun hot outside, three rotating groups

crammed the fitness rooms to lift free weights, stretch on mats and

ride the exercise machines.

“I just wanted to get skinny,” said Cecilia Mendoza, 15, a

sophomore at Costa Mesa High School, as she rode a cardio machine. “I

also wanted to stop eating a lot of junk food.”

Nearby, Lina Mendoza, a mother of another student, pedaled an

exercise bike. A 39-year-old housecleaner, Mendoza viewed the program

as a rare opportunity for recreation.

“I thought it was a great idea,” she said. “You don’t have to pay

for the gym.”

Due to its low socioeconomic status, the west side of Costa Mesa

has been a center for health concern in recent years. Two years ago,

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District installed the Steps to

Healthy Living Program, which includes classroom nutrition exercises

and daily walks, at four Westside elementary schools. Estancia High

School and TeWinkle Middle School both held “A to Z Salad Bars,”

featuring large assortments of fruits and vegetables, last year.

“It’s easy to say there’s a greater propensity for obesity with

lower socioeconomic groups for a couple of reasons,” said Dick

Greene, nutrition services director for the district. “One, you get

folks who don’t have much money to spend on food, so what they buy is

usually high-carbohydrate foods. They’re filling, so you don’t have

to eat as much, and it’s less expensive. Another theory would be that

parents don’t have money to enroll their kids in sports programs.

“This is what we’re trying to combat. What we’re trying to do is

develop awareness that kids need more exercise.”

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617.