ABOUT PE4ME

PE4ME is a program which partners with area schools, teaching the importance of life long physical activity and good nutrition to youth.  The program was developed by South Orange County Pediatrician Mike Weiss in support of childhood obesity prevention.  He noticed an alarming and growing trend in young patients in his private practice: Increasing cases of childhood obesity.  He and his wife wondered what they could do to help children eat better and exercise more. Dr. Weiss started meeting with physical education teachers, healthcare providers and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to discuss his vision for a comprehensive children’s fitness program. 
 
With 35 percent of Orange County youth – nearly 190,000 children – overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, the need for a physical education and health solution for local youths is clear.  To address this critical need, Dr. Weiss, a past board president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, created PE4ME to provide students in grades 7-12 with healthy lessons for lifetime fitness and nutrition. In 2004, “PE4ME” was born in three Orange County schools with 68 children participating. 

Today, PE4ME is a component of St. Joseph Health System’s Healthy For Life program with outreach to thousands of students in over one hundred schools throughout California.

For more information, visit www.healthyforlifeonline.org