Fat kids don't stand a chance against Penn's Lisa Hark.
Hark is out to revamp the diets of overweight children across the country via a new reality television series she is hosting.
Premiering tonight at 9 on the Learning Channel, Honey We're Killing the Kids! will feature Hark, who has run the Nutrition Education and Prevention Program at Penn's School of Medicine for the past 17 years.
In each episode, Hark visits a family with at least two overweight children and teaches them proper nutrition and health habits.
According to a preview video compiled by the station, in one episode, Hark catches a child sneaking junk food using a hidden camera. With another family, she helps the children hunt down forbidden food and give it away.
At the beginning of the process, Hark shows the parents computer-generated images of what their children could look like at 40 if they continue their eating habits. The software used is similar to programs used by police, Hark said.
"We really scare the parents" with the photos, Hark said. "It's a real wake-up call."
Each family's participation lasts three weeks.
"I deliver three rules. The first week's are usually related to nutrition," Hark said. "The second week's rule is usually related to exercise, [and] the third week's rule is related to family" bonding.
One rule Hark used during the first week with a family was "Sack the Sugar."
At the end of the three weeks of healthful eating and exercise, Hark shows the families updated images of what the children might look like at 40 if they continue to follow her nutritional guidelines.
Hark said she traveled as far away as Houston and Seattle to help families improve their lifestyles.
"Going from academic person to TV host has been fun and exhausting at the same time," Hark said.
She added that she really cares about helping these families.
"We have such an epidemic of obesity in the United States," Hark said. "Overweight kids are drinking two liters of soda a day, watching six to 10 hours of TV a day."
Hark said she had to get permission from her supervisor at Penn -- the Med School's Vice Dean for Education Gail Morrison -- to switch to a part-time position in order to accommodate her commitments to the show.
"This is [Hark's] passion, her interest, and if she can make a statement about obesity in our youth, then she's done something good for the country and for the kids growing up in the U.S., and that's important," Morrison said.
TLC is using this show as an anchor in its attempt to rebrand itself, according to channel spokesman Brian Eley.
"The [channel's] premise is now 'Live and Learn,'" Eley said. "We want programs to be educational on some level, and we feel like Honey We're Killing the Kids! is a perfect example of that."
To find families for the show, TLC advertised in newspapers and went to fairs, Hark said.
"They were looking for families that needed a lot of makeover and changes," she said.
To promote the show, Hark is scheduled to appear on The Today Show this morning and plans to be on CNN's American Morning tomorrow.
A screening of the show is planned for April 24 in Stemmler Hall's Dunlop Auditorium. The first 100 attendees will receive a free copy of Hark's new book, The Whole Grain Diet Miracle, and a "healthy lunch" will be provided, Hark said.
