Originally published on BroadwayWorld.com.

The ABC Television Network, which will air 13 two-hour episodes of the hit series ?Extreme Weight Loss,? a unique, non-competitive show about weight loss transformations, has announced the series’ participants for season four, premiering Tuesday, May 27 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT) on ABC. Unlike previous seasons, the first three months of the participants’ journey were spent at University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center (AHWC).

The Center offers some of the country’s most advanced research and science-based expertise, focusing on a comprehensive wellness approach including weight loss and management, fitness and nutrition.

Holly Wyatt, MD, medical director at AHWC and on the show, is a guiding force in helping ?Extreme Weight Loss? participants safely lose up to half their body weight. Wyatt has extensive clinical experience using behavioral treatment, diet and exercise to help people lose weight. She also has received awards from the National Institutes of Health to study energy metabolism and metabolic factors associated with weight loss.

Wyatt works alongside transformation specialist and trainer Chris Powell on the participants’ 365-day transformation journey. Life for these 17 ?super obese? people has become unmanageable because of their weight. The transformation is about more than their bodies; it is about who they are as individuals.

?Taking this journey as their doctor, cheerleader and biggest fan is one of the most memorable and meaningful aspects of my career,? said Wyatt, the medical director for ?Extreme Weight Loss.? ?I also struggled with weight in my teens and twenties so I can empathize with the physical and emotional challenges they face.?

Here are the 17 participants whose one-year weight loss journey will be documented:

• Charita & Ty (Colorado Springs, CO; Oklahoma City, OK) ? Charita/310 lbs., a mother of three who wants to be able to dance again, and Ty/480 lbs., a baseball prospect who could get a professional contract if he can get under 300 lbs. (This will be the first time in the show’s history that the participants go head-to-head, with only one in this episode making it to the final weigh-in.)
• Jeff & Juliana (Denver, CO) ? Father/423 lbs. and his 15-year-old daughter/265 lbs., who have a strained relationship.
• Kathie & Josh (Charlotte, NC) ? Single mother/255 lbs. and her 21-year-old son/345 lbs., who lives at home.
• Bruce (Salt Lake City, UT) ? Football coach/382 lbs., who wants to confront his imprisoned father, a convicted child molester, for what happened to him during his childhood.
• Jayce (Nashville, TN) ? Country songwriter/417 lbs., who wants to become a performer.
• Melissa (Shadyside, OH) ? Widow/301 lbs. who was married to an Afghanistan war veteran until he committed suicide as a result of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
• David (St. Louis, MO) ? Gourmet chef/413 lbs. who can’t overcome the guilt he feels about his brother & sister’s deaths.
• Brandi (Atlanta, GA) ? Former Pageant Queen/329 lbs. who wants to be pretty again.
• Georgeanna (Tulsa, OK) ? Pastor’s wife/315 lbs. who is a former gymnast & cheerleader, but stopped pursuing both to become a mom.
• Sara (Owensboro, KY) ? The first ?little person?/245 lbs. ever on the show.
• Cassie (Milwaukee, WI) ? Mother/347 lbs. who wants to get healthy to meet the son she gave up for adoption 18 years ago.
• Rod (Tallahassee, FL) ? Drama teacher/448 lbs., who wants to come out as being gay and then pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
• Christy & Kenny (Las Vegas, NV; Oklahoma City, OK) ? Christy/380 lbs., who tried to commit suicide after experiencing teenage bullying, and Kenny/410 lbs., a former Marine who wants to make his kids proud. (Their head-to-head episode is not to be missed; only one of them will make it to the final weigh-in, while the other is the first participant ever to be kicked off the show for bad behavior.)

The first three months of the upcoming season took place at University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center as did the nine month weigh-ins.

?It was incredible. In just one year with Holly and her team, we learned so many new things about weight loss, scientifically – as well as psychologically and emotionally,? said Matt Assmus, executive producer of ?Extreme Weight Loss.?

?The most amazing thing is that even though Holly’s team consists of the foremost obesity experts in the world, they wanted to learn from OUR experience. It’s that desire to keep learning that will help Holly and her team lead the field of health and wellness,? said Assmus.

Added JD Roth, executive producer of ?Extreme Weight Loss? and CEO of the show’s production company Eyeworks USA, ?Season four of ?Extreme Weight Loss? highlights a new and evolved approach to our process, which we owe largely to the commitment and expertise of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. We’re so gratified to have partnered with this driving, innovative institution, and look forward to growing that relationship over the life of the EWL franchise.?

Extreme Weight Loss is produced for ABC by Eyeworks USA. The series is executive-produced by JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson, Matt Assmus and Brant Pinvidic.

Learn more about the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center Extreme Weight Loss programs at?http://www.anschutzwellness.com/wellness-services/abc-extreme-weight-loss.