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| Wednesday, January 06, 2010 |
| Biggest Loser – Don’t Try This At Home |
I have to start by saying that I am not a “big fan” of the Biggest Loser and have only seen bits and pieces of a few episodes in all the time the show has been on the air. Last night the Season 9 Premiere caught my attention as they interviewed Michael Ventrella, a 30 year old deejay from Chicago, IL. Michael weighed in at an astonishing 526 pounds on the premiere and being a dietitian I was intrigued by his story. As I continued to watch I was introduced to other contestants and soon the whole gang arrived at “The Ranch” to begin their Biggest Loser journey.
After a commercial break the Biggest Loser contestants were faced with their first challenge. As the curtain peeled back, sets of stationary bikes were revealed and the contestants learned that their first challenge would be the bike the length of a marathon. Hold the phone! Did they just say “BIKE THE LENGTH OF A MARATHON”? You have to be kidding me! You’re going to ask these sedentary obese contestants, many of who weigh in at 400+ pounds, to hop on a bike and ride 26.2 miles. And to make matters worse, in order to stay at camp they must finish the race and the two groups who come in last are being sent home on the spot.
As the race began contestants shortly became out of breath and were literally dripping with sweat by mile 2. Some teams were warned by the host that if they didn’t pick up the pace they were going home. I watched in utter dismay as the show continued. Next they showed a clip of Michael Vantrella struggling on the bike (picture a 526 pound man riding on a regular size bike) and then showed another interview clip of him describing how painful the experience was for him. At that point I had to shut it off. I just couldn’t watch.
I didn’t see the end of the show or even the end of the race and I don’t plan to watch any episodes in the future. I couldn’t believe that a show would exploit people in such a way as to literally put their lives in danger. You can’t take someone who weighs 526 pounds who has zero cardiovascular conditioning and ask them to bike that far. The risk of injury or something worse is huge. The human body is not meant to withstand that type of stress.
I’ve always believed that the main concept behind the show was good. Taking a group of obese individuals and helping them lose significant amounts of weight. This sends a positive message to people across the country and gives people hope and motivation to begin their own weight loss journey. But I have to say that as a health professional I’m very disappointed in their methods. I hope people out there who watch the show realize that doing some of the things they ask contestants to do on the Biggest Loser are not REALISTIC or SAFE and I’m sure most other health professional would agree. If you are morbidly obese and want to lose weight, consult your doctor or a registered dietitian and learn how to do it in a safe way that will allow you to keep the weight off for good.
- Lauren
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Labels: Biggest Loser, Lauren, Obesity
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posted by My Sensei @ Wednesday, January 06, 2010   |
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| 6 Comments: |
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Hello, well as a huge fan of the show I just wanted to clear a few things up for you. The contestants were made to run a marathon, but as a team. Each person only had to bike 13.1 miles. There were doctors around and one woman pulled off by a doctor when she was experiencing pain. While I appreciate your concern for these people, as I am not for any type of torture to lose weight, and I hope you will give it another chance to see how these people's lives are being changed and sometimes saved by the trainers,doctors, and nutritionists. Thanks!
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Deb,
Thanks for the clarification. I do understand that are many positive aspects to the show and that people are making positive changes, but as a professional I feel the responsibility to educate people that just because you see it on T.V. doesn't mean it's safe for you.
Thanks for your comment!
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There is a lot of controversy about TBL. I like that people are saving their lives & taking it home to save family members too BUT people have to understand that this is not a typical environment & they can't compare themselves to those on the show. PLUS, there are doctors all around to help them & people at home don't have that so it would be wiser to say something like that in the beginning of the show.
I have had people talk to me about the show & have no conception of the reality behind it & that this is their job, 24/7.
BUT, I do like the show for the fact that it does save lives but like you, wish there was more education on what you wrote about in your post.
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I didn't see the show so I can't comment on what happened, but I do know they are closely monitored.
Last season I didn't watch very many episodes but would like to catch more this year.
I understand your concern - my concern is similiar to yours, but I also have concerns about the long term maintenance realities for those folks.
In fact, there is a Discovery Health show featuring a BL winner from a few seasons back who regained his weight. So sad.
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I think I should jump in here and say that I have been watching TBL for all 9 seasons and I have finally sent in my application and video to be on season 10. Now...I started out my weight loss journey at 400 pounds and I couldnt walk 2 minutes without feeling like I was gonna have a stroke! I was a very sad excuse for a human! I was completely motivated by the show so I started trying to move around some and I started eating better and I am very proud to say that as of tonight I hit 300 pounds and I rode 26.2 miles on my stationary bike just like they did on the beginning of season 9 but I didnt have help! I did it alone in 96 minutes. It didnt kill me! I feel amazing! I know that I am going to be in the 200's in a few days at this rate and I owe it to TBL for the motivation. Its not going to kill fat people to get off their butt and do some workouts! I have dropped 6 pants sizes so far and more inches than you could imagine! I am grateful to all the brave contestants that have set an example for me and so many others out here! Dr. H would never let anything major happen to these people. They are all watched closely and taken care of with great concern.
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Wow, what an amazing accomplishment! I'm so happy that the show has motivated you and that everything is working out. I do agree that the show can be very helpful for other overweight people...giving them hope and support. I just want people to be safe, that's all.
Best of luck to you in your weight loss journey! I'll be pulling for you :)
- Lauren
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Hello, well as a huge fan of the show I just wanted to clear a few things up for you. The contestants were made to run a marathon, but as a team. Each person only had to bike 13.1 miles. There were doctors around and one woman pulled off by a doctor when she was experiencing pain. While I appreciate your concern for these people, as I am not for any type of torture to lose weight, and I hope you will give it another chance to see how these people's lives are being changed and sometimes saved by the trainers,doctors, and nutritionists. Thanks!