Join Dr. Gupta and Fit Nation on the road

By Matt Sloane
CNN Medical Producer

There are few things that excite me more in my job than a run of Fit Nation Tour events, and that's exactly what we're kicking off this weekend! It's not the travel so much that I'm excited about, but the opportunity to meet thousands of people who are eager to hear the latest information about obesity, losing weight and healthy living.

I've written these numbers over and over again: 66 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese; 33 percent of children fall into this same category. This is NOT OK! So, we've partnered with the YMCA – a fantastic community organization – to get kids moving again. We've taken a page from the YMCA of Cleveland's book and modified a program called "We Run This City" – where kids run 25 miles of a "marathon" over the course of two months, and run the final 1.2 miles during their city's big marathon. Once they cross the finish line, they receive a medal, a certificate and a sense of confidence – a feeling, that they CAN stay healthy and have fun.

This Sunday, we'll hit the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in St. Paul, Minnesota, followed by Chicago on Sunday, October 11. We’ll also be at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, October 25th. If you're in one of these cities, come out and visit! Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be joining us in Minneapolis and Chicago, and he'll be signing advance copies of his new book: “Cheating Death.”

To learn more about the Fit Nation Tour, and for tips and tricks to help you get fit, plus stories of how other people have conquered the battle of the bulge, go to CNN.com/Fitnation.