At 510 pounds, Ind. student's weight-loss struggle is inspiring

• Jared Fogle%2C who lost weight eating low-calorie Subway sandwiches%2C wants to mentor Eric
• h.h. gregg%2C an Indianapolis-based company%2C is donating treadmill and other fitness supplies
• Eric%27s mother said family is surprised by the attention

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana high school freshman who inspired his school, is now inspiring the community.

Eric Ekis' struggle to slim down from his current 510 pounds has generated healthy response, said Franklin Community High School teacher Lesleigh Groce.

"What's amazing to me is how far word travels," said Groce, who has had numerous phone calls and e-mails about Eric since his story first appeared in The Indianapolis Star on Sunday. "I feel like I'm his event planner."

Eric's effort to lose weight gained peer support and has become the focus of a unique class that Groce designed. Exercise, nutrition and healthy eating are an official part of the school day for Eric and more than a dozen other students.

Thousands are rooting for the 14-year-old fighting to take control of his weight, Groce said. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, she said.

The vice president of Indianapolis-based company h.h. gregg, Andrew Giesler, is donating a treadmill and other fitness supplies to the school.

A nutritionist at Community Hospital South has offered to teach Eric's family healthy cooking skills, his mother said.

Subway pitchman Jared Fogle called Groce on Monday offering to speak to the class and serve as a mentor to Eric.

"I could relate to that kid, a lot," Fogle told The Star. "My heart just feels for him."

Fogle gained national attention after he slimmed down from 425 pounds by sticking to a diet of low-calorie Subway sandwiches and walking.

Fogle was a freshman at Indiana University when he embarked on the unusual diet of turkey and veggie subs in 1998. His story gained the attention of Subway and he now serves as a national spokesman.

In 2006, Fogle founded The Jared Foundation to help curb childhood obesity. He said he hopes to find a way for his foundation to more directly help Eric and other students in Franklin, Ind.

Reading about Eric's struggles, the taunts, the broken furniture, the emotional struggles, reminded Fogle of his own life as an overweight kid in high school.

He said he wants to meet Eric, but he doesn't want to pressure him.

"I think it's going to give a lot of hope to a lot of other kids."

Indiana is the eighth most obese state in the nation, according to the 2013 F as in Fat report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Of the about 1.6 million children living in Indiana, 17%, or about 270,000, are obese, said Laura Hormouth, nutrition coordinator for the Indiana Department of Health's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

By sharing his story with The Indianapolis Star, Eric has said he hoped to encourage others to address an obesity problem that plagues far too many people.

Laura Ekis, Eric's mother, said the family has been surprised by the attention.

"He said he's famous," she said. "Everyone is just supporting him. I've been thankful for that."