Shaq's Big Challenge!

I don't know if anybody has been watching this show on ABC, but I have to give Shaq all the credit in the world for trying to pull this off. I agree most of reality tv is crap, but if you can get past all the wife swapping and English nannies coming to the rescue of bad parents once in a while you can find a diamond in the ruff such as Shaq's Big Challenge.

Just to give you a little background the show is focused on six kids in middle school who are morbidly obese and thrust into a program where they are provided with dietitians personal trainers and a swift kick in the ass from the big man once in a while. The kids original weight ranges from anywhere near three hundred pounds to about two twenty with the average body fat percentage in the mid thirties. Scary stuff!

The crazy part as you watch the show is not the weight of just these kids, but how many other fat kids there are in the school. I can remember being in middle school and having maybe one or two fat kids running around, now it looks like about fifty percent of the kids are obese. Some of these kids can't even do one push up.

The good part of the show is that not only is Shaq trying to help these kids, but also trying to change the way the entire state of Florida deals with their physical education requirements. I really have to give him credit, because it is not like he just lent his name to a tv show and is trying to make a quick buck, he really seems interested in helping the kids and has been on the show throughout the season visiting homes and meeting with school officials. In addition to to try to make gym a required subject which it is currently not, Shaq and his team are also trying to redo the lunch menu to incorporate healthy foods rather than hot dogs, tater tots and a whole assortment of deep fried and fattening foods.

I don't think we realize just how much of a problem childhood obesity is becoming a problem and how not only is going to affect these kids lives but it also is going to affect our nations health care system as a whole as the kids get older and develop more and more health problems. My hat is off to Shaq for really putting his money where his mouth is and starting up a good cause. Although they started off with six kids they had about 40 kids voluntarily working out after school. Good job again Shaq and us Laker fans miss you big time. By the way the show can be seen on ABC on Tuesday's at 9 pm.