ABC AND PEOPLE TEAM UP FOR PRIMETIME SPECIAL "HALF THEIR SIZE: THE PEOPLE MAGAZINE WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE," AIRING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 ON ABC

TV Special Follows Eight Men and Women from the Nation's Most Overweight State for Nine Months and Reveals their Remarkable Body Transformations and Emotional Discoveries

ABC and PEOPLE will team up for an original one-hour primetime special, "Half Their Size: The PEOPLE Magazine Weight Loss Challenge," airing TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Half Their Size: The PEOPLE Magazine Weight Loss Challenge" will follow eight residents from Mississippi, the nation's most overweight state, on an emotional journey to lose weight and overcome adversity. Taken from the pages of one of PEOPLE's biggest franchises -- "Half their Size" -- the �Mississippi 8' were followed over nine months as they struggled to lose weight the old fashioned way -- through diet and exercise; no surgery or gimmicks. The participants will be revealed in PEOPLE on newsstands Friday, September 26, prior to the premiere of the television special.

"We're thrilled to bring the �Half their Size' franchise to life on ABC," said Managing Editor Larry Hackett. "Our readers come to PEOPLE for motivational stories of weight loss, and these Mississippi residents are no exception. Their hard work and commitment to changing their health -- and their lives -- is nothing short of inspirational."

The special will take viewers inside the lives of these eight Mississippi residents, each of whom, last January, accepted PEOPLE's challenge to spend nine months slimming down in 2008. PEOPLE supplied the trainers and nutritionists, but the �Mississippi 8' supplied the willpower, fitting in diet and exercise with work, family and many other everyday obligations.

Cameras filmed the subjects during brutal gym sessions, healthy grocery shopping, weigh-ins, doctor visits and important life events, including the birth of a child. Candid emotional interviews detail the daily struggles, sweat, tears and temptations facing them en route to their quest for happier, healthier lives. Tune in on September 30 to witness their incredible journeys.

The special will be produced and directed by John Watkin and Eamon Harrington of Planet Grande Pictures.