The Biggest Loser (U.S. TV Series) - Weight Loss Regimen: Risks and Criticism

Weight Loss Regimen: Risks and Criticism

"I’m waiting for the first person to have a heart attack. I have had some patients who want to, and I counsel them against it. I think the show is so exploitative. They are taking poor people who have severe weight problems whose real focus is trying to win the quarter-million dollars."

Dr. Charles Burant, director of the Michigan Metabolomics and Obesity Center

"Simply put, the Biggest Loser provides viewers with a completely inaccurate picture of what you must do to lose weight and live healthy. It takes an overly extreme course of action on an important, but far less effective and achievable way to attain good form and better health."

Graham Mumm, entrepreneur and writer at UndeferredLiving.com

"Risks aside, weight-loss experts say that the biggest problem with the Biggest Loser is that extreme methods of dropping pounds are less likely to work in the long run. Several former Biggest Loser contestants have regained some or all of the weight."

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience.com

According to LiveScience.com, "physicians and nutritionists worry the show's focus on competitive weight loss is, at best, counterproductive and, at worst, dangerous. " Contestants on the show lose upwards of 10 pounds per week (in the very first week, some contestants have lost 20-30+ pounds in that one week alone), whereas the established medical guidelines for safe weight loss are between 1 and 2 pounds per week.

Other health writers take it even further, suggesting that everything from the shows dietary guidelines to workout routines are completely flawed.

At the end of every telecast, the following disclaimer is shown:

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"Our contestants were supervised by doctors while participating in the show, and their diet and exercise regimen was tailored to their medical status and their specific needs. Consult with your own doctor before embarking on any diet or exercise program."

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Despite this claim of supervision, however, all contestants are required to sign a waiver that states: "no warranty, representation or guarantee has been made as to the qualifications or credentials of the medical professionals who examine me or perform any procedures on me in connection with my participation in the series, or their ability to diagnose medical conditions that may affect my fitness to participate in the series."

The weight-loss regimen used in the show—severe caloric restriction combined with up to six hours a day of strenuous exercise—involves risks including a weakening of the heart muscle, irregular heartbeat and dangerous reductions in potassium and electrolytes. Contestants, regardless of their weight, are required to certify that they believe they are "in excellent physical, emotional, psychological and mental health."

The Biggest Loser: Second Chances included a one-mile foot race in its first week, an event that led to the hospitalization of two of its contestants; Rob Huizenga, the show's medical consultant, when asked about the foot race said that "If we had it to do over, we wouldn’t it" and noted that in response, the show's producers have "changed a lot of the way do things" (including the close monitoring of contestants’ body temperatures during exercise).

Because the show is a contest that involves eliminations from it, some contestants are encouraged to take risks that endanger their health. Ryan C. Benson, the winner of the program’s first season, publicly admitted that "he dropped some of the weight by fasting and dehydrating himself to the point that he was urinating blood." Also since the show Benson has regained all of his weight, but 10-12 lbs. In 2009, Kai Hibbard (runner-up from the third season) told the New York Times that "she and other contestants would drink as little water as possible in the 24 hours before a weigh-in" and would "work out in as much clothing as possible" when the cameras were off. She further stated that two weeks after the show ended, she had regained about 31 pounds, mostly from staying hydrated. In a June 2010 interview, Hibbard said, "I do still struggle . I do. My husband says I’m still afraid of food... I’m still pretty messed up from the show."

In a July 2011 press conference with the Television Critics Association, comedian and actor Jerry Lewis was critical of the competitive nature of The Biggest Loser, claiming that the show is about contestants "knocking their brains out trying to see how we beat the fat lady at 375 pounds, and in four months she's going to be 240. Who cares? It's ridiculous."