Leanne

Age: 16
Start weight: 223 pounds
Height: 5’6”
Percentile score: 99.00
The lowdown: A 16-year-old inspires her family to kick its astonishing addiction to corner-store junk food and get in shape in preparation for their greatest challenge – a treacherous mountain hike that threatens to end in disaster.
Her downfall: This family’s nightly junk food habit dates back to before Leanne was born. It’s all she’s ever known and is practically the only pleasant activity the family shares. Leanne has been told that she is fat and ugly by other kids, and desperately wants to lose weight and be accepted for who she is.  She describes her family as “Lumps that don’t do anything”, and her dad, Bernie, suffers from debilitating osteoarthritis – a condition that is already starting to take root in Leanne. To spur them on to change, the family sets a goal of doing an incredibly difficult mountain hike. Paul Plakas is clear – if this family doesn’t make some serious changes, taking on a challenge that is the equivalent of climbing 2830 stairs is nothing less than a recipe for disaster.
Fitness Goal: Hike up the Grouse Grind, Grouse Mountain Vancouver (2.9km)

Photo Gallery: