PLAY TO LOSE

A new reality TV show 8216;Shaq8217;s Big Challenge8217; sees basketball king Shaquille O8217;Neal slam dunk overweight kids...

Shaquille O8217;Neal is on a mission. And it has nothing to do with basketball or winning a fifth NBA title. The Miami Heat superstar is determined to do battle with childhood obesity as if the fast-growing epidemic is an enemy defender in the low post.

8220;We8217;re going to try to get better lunches, better food and better everything for the kids,8221; O8217;Neal says.
It8217;s been reported that 59 million Americans are considered obese. And about 300,000 of those die each year. More and more kids are eating too much junk food and spending too much time lounging on the sofa watching TV.

O8217;Neal is actively attacking the growing problem in Shaq8217;s Big Challenge, a new reality show that8217;s essentially a pint-sized version of The Biggest Loser.
In the six-episode series, O8217;Neal attempts to whip six overweight Broward County kids into shape through a rigorous exercise regimen and by encouraging healthy eating habits. There8217;s Walter, a 14-year-old video game nut who loves munching on pizza burritos; Kit, a 14-year-old talented artist; Kevin, a 13-year-old who8217;s constantly teased for his weight; Chris, an 11-year-old whose lifelong dream is to play for the New York Yankees; James, an 11-year-old who routinely eats popcorn slathered in two sticks of butter; and Ariel, a 14-year-old who developed a weight problem after her parents separated.

O8217;Neal says the kids reminded him of himself as a kid.

8220;I can relate to their depression, since I was tall and looked kind of awkward,8221; he says. 8220;I know what they8217;re going through because it8217;s what I had to go through.8221;

In the show8217;s opener, all the kids struggle mightily performing the simplest of exercises. Three were unable to do even one sit-up. Four couldn8217;t manage a single push-up. All six were ready for oxygen tanks after running a mile.

8220;This is going to be harder than those four NBA rings you got,8221; O8217;Neal is told at one point.

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Working with him is a hand-picked 8220;dream team8221; of fitness experts. But O8217;Neal is the star and he certainly acts like one. He has an instant rapport with all the kids. His easygoing, you-can-do-it manner makes the kids want to be more healthy 8211; even when being so isn8217;t exactly as much fun to them as pigging out on burgers and fries.
KEVIN THOMPSONNYT