With the end of season 7 fast approaching, it seems The Biggest Loser on NBC has been a big hit. I’m a fan of the show because I love seeing the transformations the contestants go through, but I just read an article that tags the show as terrible, horrible and abusive.
In the article Nancy Clark (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) states, “The messages in The Biggest Loser are all about deprivation, denial, starvation, and punishment. Exercise is akin to torture.”
I have to say I do not agree. All the contestants are happy to be on the show and upset when faced with the possibility of being sent home. I might agree that the exercise sometimes seems like torture, but these are people in extreme situations and need extreme action. They do struggle and push themselves each week, but all that hard work results in pounds shed.
The contestants are taught about healthy eating. Despite what some may think, the contestants must cook for themselves. They are given nutritional guidelines, but they are responsible for the food they eat. In Nancy’s article she seems to state the contestants are rewarded for enduring starvation. No, they are rewarded for hard work. The contestants work out 6-8 hours each day and never go more than two hours without eating.
Personally, I think the show is great because it demonstrates that with hard work and determination you can lose weight. Of course, when they go home there are challenges – they don’t have the entire day to devote to exercise, but they have learned tools to incorporate into their lives. And once they leave the show, most contestants no longer have substantial pounds to shed. They can transition more into a maintenance routine.
With all of the pills, diets, and surgeries out there advertising quick and easy weight loss, I think it’s great that The Biggest Loser shows hard work through diet and exercise are the true paths to weight loss. There are still two episodes left – if you’ve never watched tune in and you’ll be amazed at their transformations.
