NEW SEASON OF NBC'S HIT WEIGHT LOSS SERIES � 'THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES' � PREMIERES JANUARY 6 WITH OLDEST, YOUNGEST AND HEAVIEST CONTESTANTS EVER, PLUS A SHOCKING NEW TWIST!

And "The Biggest Loser" Partners With General Mills and Feeding America On "Pound For Pound Challenge" Encouraging Viewers To Lose Weight While Helping To Feed Those Less Fortunate In Their Communities!

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � January 5, 2009 � NBC's hit weight loss series returns with its biggest season yet when "The Biggest Loser: Couples" premieres Tuesday, January 6 (8-10 p.m. ET). Alison Sweeney ("Days of our Lives") hosts and trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels return to train 11 couples who begin the show with a combined weight of more than 3.5 tons.

The premiere kicks off with the contestants arriving at the ranch in teams of two, including mother/daughter, father/son, sisters, best friends, grandparents, cousins, an engaged couple and former models. Included among them are the series' oldest players yet (63-year-old grandparents), youngest male contestant (18), heaviest female contestant (379 lbs.) and heaviest contestant ever in the history of the show (454 lbs.).

First, they head to the gym to try working out on their own � unaware that Bob and Jillian are watching them via hidden camera, ready to surprise them and start picking their teams. After teams are chosen and they get settled in, the couples are off to compete in their first challenge for a prize that will prove to be very valuable. Also in the premiere episode, one contestant has an eye-opening health scare, and all the players are in for a shock when Alison Sweeney surprises them at the weigh-in with this season's big twist, sure to have dramatic consequences for almost everyone.

In conjunction with the new season premiere, "The Biggest Loser" is partnering with General Mills and Feeding America to launch the Pound For Pound challenge, an initiative that encourages Americans to lose weight and feed the hungry. For every pound viewers pledge to lose this new year, a pound of groceries will be delivered to a local food bank. The Pound for Pound Challenge gives Americans the opportunity to fight the hunger crisis and help families in their own communities by simply pledging to lose weight and getting healthy. People can visit www.PFPChallenge.com or www.biggestloser.com and enter their weight loss goals to join in. The challenge will be integrated into the show and viewers will get updates throughout the seventh season.

Americans can also donate directly at www.PFPChallenge.com and look for Pound For Pound lids and seals on specially-marked General Mills products. For each lid or seal mailed in, General Mills will donate 10 cents, enough to provide a pound of groceries, to Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity.

"The Biggest Loser: Couples" is a production of Reveille LLC, 25/7 Productions and 3Ball Productions. Ben Silverman (NBC's "The Office," "Ugly Betty"), Dave Broome ("A Model Life with Petra Nemcova," "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope"), JD Roth ("Age of Love," "Beauty and the Geek"), Todd A. Nelson ("Unan1mous," "Beauty and the Geek") and Mark Koops ("American Gladiators," "Shear Genius") serve as executive producers.