I love to watch “The Biggest Loser.” It’s fascinating and strangely satisfying to see people overcome their struggles with obesity—sometimes even losing the equivalent of an adult person’s weight over the course of the show.

Did you know that there are “Biggest Loser” TV programs in other countries, including the U.K., Australia, Brazil, and even Brunei? The real surprise for me: South Africa, where many people are chronically hungry, aired a version in 2008.

Maybe we’re not so different from South Africa. Because while we have a national weight problem—some call it an “obesity epidemic”—there are also millions of Americans who don’t have enough nutritious food to eat. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report shows that in 2008, the year our economy tanked and so many people lost their jobs, hunger levels spiked. Nearly 50 million people lacked sufficient food, including nearly 17 million children. That’s nearly one in four children in America going hungry.

Of course, we will not see famine and starvation here on the level of what tragically happens in Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, or Burundi. But statistics like these from the USDA are a sobering reminder that there is need right here in our own backyard—worse than ever, given the economic downturn.

Saturday is National Hunger Awareness Day. If you’re among the blessed to have plenty of food, why not do something to help our nation’s hungry—donate to a food bank, volunteer at a soup kitchen, or get involved with a church ministry to provide food in your community? And pray for those who are “losing big” despite living in a land of plenty.

P.S. I’d also appreciate your prayers as I travel to Texas this weekend to be with Max Lucado at Oak Hills Church.