While working out the other day, I was reading Star magazine and I came across an article called, "The Biggest Loser's Dirty Little Secret. This article discussed the secrets behind the weight loss for the participants. The show wants big, dramatic results and unfortunately the participants are at risk. The contestants participate in extremely intense workouts and are on restricted diets. Along with exercising and dieting, participants intentionally dehydrate themselves before weigh-ins to have a better outcome. According to contestants, the morning of weigh-ins was the most intense.
They would go to the gym and the heat would be cranked up to over 100 degrees F, they would wear layers of clothing, and work out for 2-3 hours without consuming water. There is also nothing safe about having 500-lb contestants working out to that extent. According to Star magazine, all participants signed a contract realizing the life-threatening reality of the show. Those over 400-lbs also had to feel they were "in excellent physical, emotional, psychological, and mental health."
Another problem with the show was they claimed to provide a psychologist for support for the participants mental and physical breakdowns; however, contestants stated they never knew where to find him. A woman contestant, Kai, who appeared on the show in 2006, says she began developing an eating disorder, her hair was falling out, and her body was covered in bruises. According to the article, her trainer would not let her see a counselor and forced her to continue working out. Kai also stated, producers would create drama and untrustworthiness on the show by deliberatly saying their friends were possibly saying horrible things behind their back.
This article was shocking to me. I realize that the Biggest Loser is a show and wants to create dramatic effect; however, putting people's physical and mental well-being in danger is not safe. I feel each contestant should have had their own counselor to continually talk to them and support them through this process.
What does everyone else think about this article? Is anyone else surprised by this article? Should the participants be allowed access to a solid support system? Should contestants to be deliberatly placed in a hot room without AC and no water in order to lose the most weight possible?
Here's the link to the website. It's not the whole article but you can get the main point of it!http://www.starmagazine.com/news/16415
The Biggest Loser has always been a family favorite in my house. Who can help but be swept away by the captivating idea of a total body transformation in exchange for not only a newly achieved self-esteem but also a significant amount of cash? While we sit at home watching the drama unfold on our televisions (and savoring our favorite flavor of ice cream), the participants we cheer on are suffering. They endure the pain for the extrinsic motivators previously mentioned, but also because overweight and obese individuals share a pivotal commonality--a personality trait underlying maladaptive behaviors and emotional disturbances.As a society, it is very easy to assume that the only way to reach these people is through severe intervention as we see demonstrated in the trainers' verbal harshness on the show. While we like to embrace the moments of encouragement caught on film, there is always a time when a contestant falls behind pace or does not meet the desired expectations of their trainer. It is at this time that they are expected to continue whether their body is telling them to stop or not. As a means of getting ahead in physical fitness, coaches have been known to push the limits for years. While reading the article and its reference to gym conditions the morning of weigh-ins, I was reminded of a practice of the wrestling team at my high school. Very much like the Biggest Loser contestants, wrestlers were told to wear heavy sweats and tuck their tops into their pants while doing intense physical activity. The idea was to make weight for the day's wrestling meet by losing all excess body fluids through sweating. I have always thought ill of this practice and the competition to meet a certain weight class as it condones eating disorders, but I must admit that it never came to mind as a means of making weight on The Biggest Loser. I wasn't completely surprised, but it does come as a shock to me that these individuals aren't being given the support they need to walk away from this experience with the tools necessary to maintain a healthy weight and function normal mentally.
I thought this was a really interesting blog! I do think we need to take everything a gossip magazine "reports" with a grain of salt though. They often exaggerate or lie to sell their product. I love The Biggest Loser, and hearing that contestants may take unhealthy measures to lose the most weight isn't all that surprising to me since it is a competition for money. Overall though, I think the show has a good message behind it and really helps people be motivated and change their lives.
I have to agree with you about the show putting people's physical and mental health in danger is not a good idea. It is understandable for the show to be dramatic in order to get ratings, and its obvious that many people enjoy watching this show. I'm not a super huge fan of the show, but I've seen several episodes and it always mind boggled me that people could lose so much weight in such a short amount of time, even with the intense workout sessions and strict diets. If this article is stating true facts, I feel like there should be some changes to the way the show runs, as in a psychologist should be available to assist the participants on the show. I am shocked by this article, yet not at the same time. Shows will do anything for ratings it seems like. I also feel like if the money is such a big motivator in this show, does it really send out the right message on weight loss? I think ultimately it could cause people to think they should be losing more weight per week in stead of the recommended to keep your body healthy.
I thought this article was very interesting but it did not reallt surprise me at all. What I have watched from the show I always felt like it was somewhat staged and unreal because of the such extreme measures. I never really understood how doctors would approve such drastic conditions of anybody in that sort of physical health condition because of the health risk to those people and the liability issue also. I always felt like it was simply for entertainment purposes and that the drama they stage on the show never seemed very real. I feel like this kind of weight loss is extremely dangerous and unhealthy and in order for obese patients to actually lose this sort of weight would take a much greater time than one season of the show. It's not very realistic to me at all.
After reading this article, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this show and all the secrets behind it. I have been looking online for more stories dealing with "The Biggest Loser" show. I recently found this article --
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35334490/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
It states that celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels, trainer for "The Biggest Loser", is allegedly being sued for endorsing a diet supplement. The woman is suing Michaels because the diet supplement failed to work. The product and an internet site claimed, "Two Capsules Before Main Meals and You Lose Weight ... That's It!" This woman says she only bought the product because Michaels endorsed it, so it must work.
First of all, I think this woman is naive to think a diet pill will actually work and help individuals lose weight. I think it's common sense that in order to lose weight you have to be motivated to exercise and eat healthy foods.
However, I do think it is ridiculous for a product to have Michaels' picture on the diet supplement packaging, calling her "America's Toughest Trainer." Apparantly the law suits says Michaels' realizes taking two pills before eating will make you lose weight. I understand she made money for endorsing this product; however, she is a well known trainer. People see her on "The Biggest Loser" and may place all their trust in her, like this particular woman.