Shaq's Big Family Challenge

Is "big daddy" himself going to participate? Maybe he won't need to try and play himself into shape next season.

I watched (ok, I TRIED) the first episode the other day. Maybe it will get better, but I don't think I'll see it. There was so much focus on Shaq himself... driving in the car, mugging for the camera, talking about how great HE was, that I finally turned it off.

Now, some of the previews I saw showed me things I liked - confronting school districts and state governments with the deplorable menus for school lunches and the lack of phys.ed; having the kids work with nutritionists so they learn about healthy eating, etc. But that first episode was just 'All Shaq, All the Time' and seemed more like a tribute to his ego than anything.

I don't see myself giving up my summer nights for this one.

Hey, even if the show ain't that great-- should attract attention. We need more celebrities attracting attention to healthy endeavors -- even if the celebrity is a bit of a throwback. :)

Shaquille O'Neal was a player for the Orlando Magic for several years. During that time he gave large amouts of money and his time to community projects in the Orlando area. Shaq has shown himself to be much more than a basketball player with his sincere giving back to the society that made him a sports hero. Don't be too hard on him, if he dominated 'soccer' like he did basketball, either you or all your children would be wearing his jersey! :-)

I thought the show and O'Neal's naivety were endearing. He seemed to think all it would take was him asking the kids to exercise and eat right. He was shocked that didn't work. And Laura, the second half of the show concentrated more on the kids.

I understand that the show focused a lot on Shaq in the beginning, but I don't think that's unreasonable. It was sort of an introduction to make sure viewers knew about him and where he was coming from in all of this. And they showed a scene where he was talking to a team-mate who made a sort of snide remark about whether he would follow his own advice which I thought was funny. He said he would and they showed a long segment of his own workout routine. He seems to be in much better shape than he usually is this time of year. Like others have said, anything to bring more focus on health is a good thing.

Shaq should be commended for what he is doing, or attempting to do... It is the children just now coming up that have no idea how troubled the food industry is.. And educating kids as to proper diet and what to avoid is a great way to start.. And a well know figure kids can look up to makes it a shoe in !!!

I watched the show, and it wasn't the greatest thing but it wasn't so bad. I appreciated that it wasn't just about the parents, that the kids also had to take responsiblity. I know everyone says it's the parents' fault but these kids are teenagers.
I think just the humiliation of being told you have 50 percent body fat is enough to make a change. The question is, will they stick with it when the program is over.

Shaq really seem to be a good gut during his time here in Baton Rouge.

On the website you can download forms to start a petition for improved snack machine contents at schools.

"Any approach to childhood obesity must, also, surely address the habits of the whole family" ... I completely agree. Those children weren't born with poor eating and exercise habits. I haven't watched this show so I don't know if they do include those kids' families in this or not, but they definitely need to.

I'm not saying that it's all the parents' fault, because everyone needs to take personal responsibility for where they are in life, but if these kids are living at home, the family as a whole must make changes.

JoLynn Braley said:
"Any approach to childhood obesity must, also, surely address the habits of the whole family" ... I completely agree. Those children weren't born with poor eating and exercise habits. I haven't watched this show so I don't know if they do include those kids' families in this or not, but they definitely need to.[...]

They do include the families.

Our lifestyle is based on convenience, so much so that we have sacraficed our health. Look around and listen,we are a "fat nation". Look and listen "fat" kills us. There is no disputing the effects of our lifestyle and we must change and any true attempt to offer answers should be applauded even if you play for the team that beat my Mavericks.

I hate to blame parents too, but it's hard not to when the one mother was talking about melting two sticks of butter on her kids' popcorn. Yes, teenagers need to make a lot of their own food choices, but that's a bit much.

It's better than Susan Powter, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie on the Simple Life camp/show.

Lara shutup!!! Hater!!! The first show was great and has me so motivated that I have started a weight loss challenge at work with my co-workers and the children that we work with. the show is to promote change and to sho that we all can make a difference in one anothers lifes. Wether your a celebrity or not. And don't hate on SHAQ - REGRADLESS HE IS STILL THE MAN!!!!!! Our weight loss challenge is called Shaq Attack Against Fat.

Hopefully the diet the kids are on are adequate for thier growth ( as in growing tall) and development. As a teenanger I was on such a restricted low fat ( no dairy, fruit, junkfood, red meat, and nuts too) diet ( by a nutritionist) that I actually stunted my growth and I just gained all the weight back. Too many diets for children don't address thier chemistry and nutritional needs for thier brains development. Also dairy and nut products are important for bone growth and its known that it aids in weight loss.

I watched this show last night and I think it's a pretty good program. They seem to mostly be focusing on getting the kids active, not so much just restricting their diets. I felt bad for the girl that had to quit the program because her parents didn't want her in it. Parents should encourage their kids to be active. I know I would have been a lot better off if my mother had been encouraging me in sports instead of telling me "You'll get hurt" all the time.

What really made me mad was the principal's attitude about PE classes. She just said "It's going to cost too much, not going to happen".

I doubt it will make a difference at all. There was recently some study I heard about on NPR where $20 million were spent on changing the school lunches, adding "trainer" P.E. coaches, taking regular breaks from class to exercise, and having nutrition classes for both students and their parents. There was no difference in the kids from the "fit" school and the control group and the study was never published. I doubt this will make a huge difference, but the people running the show will find a way to pick and choose the right kids and edit it into looking like Shaq has magically made the entire school fit and healthy.

Hi,

I watched it too, and one thing I noticed, was the fat kids, all had big fat parents. I think it's way more the rule than the execption, that fat kids will be from a home with fat parents. Not always, but mostly. And that's where he/she learn their bad eating habits and gotten their food addictions and associations. Being obese, is being a food addict, and is no different than a drug addict. Obese people are not just lazy failures, they have an addiction that's worse than heroin. Telling a fat person to just eat brocolli instead of chips, is like telling an alcoholic to just drink Sprite. The thing that stood out most to me, on the Shaq show, was that one kid's obese mother, and it had me thinking, this is his parent's fault, and he's gonna have a real hard, if not impossible time with this.

i like the idea of the show teaching teens how to lose weight- but i think they should also maybe have a cuople of teens that aren't so drastically overweight on the show so that teens can learn how to lose/ control their weight through healthy meathods else they might end up being a large sixth grader who turns to bulimia to lose weight and becomes addicted for the next six years because they dont know any other way... hmm or maybe thats just me - but still stop giving the ridioculously over weight children all the air time porfavor!

This is a GREAT show! I don't care about Basketball, but I do care about childhood obestiy. I see the show more as a two part show- the childern trying to loose weight and the issues with the school bored. I think Shaq may have been amazed himself at how BIG of an issue this is, as the first episode seemed disorganized and I could not really tell what direction he was headed, however you could sense there was LOTS more to come. It will be very interesting to see where this goes.

I think what Shaq is doing is great and you have to push the kids and everyone in the family needs to be involved or it is just not going to work. I work with teenage kids to help them lose weight and I tell you that if the parents are not going to help push the kids they will not lose the weight. Mostly the kids will just gain the weight, which mine have because the parents are just not pushing the kids because they want the program to be all fun but it can't be all fun all the time.

Not all the parent were fat only two sets of parents.

Thank goodness someone is asking the government to mandate P.E. again in middle school. Kids need exercise at school to help them learn how to have a healthy future. School lunches have needed a new direction for years. It's time for change in schools all across America. We never seem to want change unless a celebrity wants it for us. Thanks Shaq!

Can you talk to jennifer granhome

Hi shaq, just popping by to say hi & im are big fan of yours take care from me & my family.

Information for the program I need help with my son to lose weight and to get him into physical activities.

I watched the entire season because I'm a big Shaq fan, and I think the kids benefited from the experience.

If every celebrity, musician, and athlete did as much as Shaq I think our kids would be in much better health.

Kudos to Shaq.