Tuesday night's episode of Our America, "Generation XXL" is a super powerful one. We take on the childhood obesity epidemic in a way that I've never seen before on television. First off, 1 in 3 children in America is overweight; 1 in 6 is obese. An obese child is nearly 80% more likely to become an obese adult than a child that is not obese.

There are so many factors to lead to a child becoming obese. In many parts of the country, parents just don't have access to sufficient information about how to lead healthy lifestyles. Couple that with the fact that kids have become far less active than ever before due to cuts in physical education and the unfettered addiction to technology in the form of mobile devices and video games. Parents are working more than ever before and unable to monitor what kids are eating at home and schools are selling astronomical amounts of junk food in order to supplement shrinking budgets. It's a ticking time bomb and America's children are exploding. It's estimated that this generation of the young people will be the first ever to have shorter lifespans than their parents.
 
It is said that the way to prevent obesity is not to allow kids to become overweight in the first place. But it takes a multi-pronged approach that has to start with parents. Kids are just too young to understand the consequences of obesity. Very often overweight children have parents who are struggling with weight issues. In this episode of Our America, we spend time with a group of overweight parents who are banding together and making losing weight and getting healthy—fun. They are working to save their lives as well as the lives of their children. I hope people find inspiration from them. The idea of losing weight can be hugely daunting, especially if one tries to do it alone. But as I learned from my experience with an extraordinary group of people in West Virginia, whom we feature in the show, being part of a community and holding each accountable can make a tremendous difference. It can even, as surprising as it sounds, be fun.
 
"Generation XXL" airs this Tuesday night as part of the Our America series.  Every Tuesday night at 10PM EST/PST on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Watch a preview now!