Did You Watch Shaq’s Big Challenge on ABC?
I rarely keep up with what is on TV, but I happened to catch a snipped on the TV Guide channel about a new show on ABC, Shaq’s Big Challenge. Shaquille O’Neal from NBA basketball fame is helping young overweight kids get into shape. I knew I had to tune in.
The beginning of the show was a little heart wrenching. Seeing the overweight kids and hearing their stories brings back a lot of memories. I can relate to everything they said. The fact that they can’t keep up with their friends. The fact that they get teased. The fact that they know that their life isn’t what it could be.
They did some tests with the kids to see where they stand in regards to exercises such as push ups, sit ups and running a mile. Again, I can relate. I remember taking the President’s Physical Fitness Tests in gym class. I never could run the mile and I couldn’t do a pull up. I had nice friends, though, and while I was struggling with the pull up, they helped me make at least one so I didn’t feel so bad. I also always passed the V-Sit test. That’s where you sit and stretch your arms past your feet. For some reason, I was given the gift of flexibility.
Then came the medical testing in the form of stress tests and MRI imaging. None of the kids passed the stress test and the MRI tests made quite a few of the parents cry at the harsh reality that their kids are morbidly obese. One of the kids started crying upon hearing the news and I couldn’t help but think of the despiration he was feeling when he heard that he was living in a ticking time bomb. I’ve felt it too.
So far, I can tell that I’ll be tuning in at 9pm on Tuesdays to catch this show. I am drawn to the show already because I want to see these kids succeed and I can relate to their feelings since I was a chubby kid and now a morbidly obese adult. Perhaps watching the show will help my motivation and who knows? Perhaps I will learn a few things that I can do to improve my own health.
As a side note, it doesn’t hurt that Shaq is a pretty funny guy. While the one boy was doing sit ups, Shaq was holding his feet and Shaq was saying (this isn’t exact - but it was along the lines of) “Don’t you be farting on me.”
LOL! I can relate there as well! Who hasn’t been doing sit ups with a partner holding your feet and hasn’t worried about that. 
Anyways, if you watched it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the show so far.
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Comments
I hadn’t heard of it before and I’m not a huge fan of Shaq, but maybe I will check it out next week.
I don’t own a TV, but this sounds like a show I’d enjoy very much. I’d enjoy watching the kids succeed, so I hope they do really well, and in a properly slow time, they do (no “lose weight fast!” tricks).
My husband’s a PE teacher for middle and elementary school kids, so this isn’t a shocking issue to us. I’m not sure I’d categorize overweight kids as being abused, as many parents clearly don’t posess the skills to stay fit themselves, let alone teach their children how to be healthy. Childhood obesity is a very complex problem, and there’s certainly not just one answer. But I think part of it centers around PE time being drastically reduced at most schools in the past decades. Some kids don’t even attend PE classes once a week! Even my husband’s school doesn’t give kids the state-mandated amount of PE time; schools simply are stretched very thin with academic test score requirements, etc.
I enjoyed this show, I thought the kids all learned something. And, as a Floridian, I know that they really did change the law and add PE back into the schools down here, which is good.
I enjoyed this show, I thought the kids all learned something. And, as a Floridian, I know that they really did change the law and add PE back into the schools down here, which is good.
The show concept is great because America’s problem with obesity is ridiculous. I hope this changes people’s minds in some way or form. I consider any kid who is obese as abuse by the parents. It is their fault (unless it’s medically related) for the kids problems. Maybe someone like Shaq who is highly thought of can change this view. If this doesn’t work, at least they have a reality show that doesn’t involve cheating, lying, or lust.