‘The Biggest Loser’ has been marred with several controversies throughout its lifespan of 18 seasons. Since its debut in 2004, the show has found itself at the center of criticism. From it being a fat-shaming show, to allegations that the contestants never really maintain their new body weights. Most contestants of the show have come forward to say that the tremendous weight they lost during the show has been gained back over the years. Due to these allegations, the show’s creators and producers decided to do away with their old format. The 18th season of ‘The Biggest Loser’ was set to be rolled out in January. This time, the show didn’t advertise that they would be helping people ‘get skinny’. Instead, Bob Harper, who is the host, said that the show will lay its focus primarily on making people healthy.
Apparently, this time the contestants wouldn’t just focus on losing weight for TV, they would also be shown how to prepare nutritious and healthy meals. Additionally, they would partake in group therapy to aid in shifting their lifestyles. But, are these moves just a façade to keep the show on air? Is the new ‘The Biggest Loser’ makeover just a way to increase viewership and skyrocket their ratings? Will the contestants actually gain any useful information and knowledge about their weight?
Here’s Why ‘The Biggest Loser’ Reboot Might not be 100% real:
1. The Show Presents an Impractical Picture of Weight Loss
The show’s revamp is meant to show overweight people that there is much more to the whole losing weight journey. The show plans to focus on presenting viewers and contestants with a much less harmful way of weight loss. According to BG Daily News, experts still feel the show is portraying an unrealistic image of weight loss. Sarah Adler is a psychologist who deals with eating disorders and weight control. She said that she was happy with the language the show used in terms of healthy weight control.
The only thing that she was against was the fact that the show does not allow contestants to feel comfortable in their bodies. She said that the show emphasized more on the contestants being as thin as they could possibly get. This, as she said, hinders the contestants from accepting their bodies. The fact that their aim is to get skinny, and win the cash prize impedes the contestants from making conscious healthy weight-related decisions.
2. It Doesn’t Really Focus on Nutrition
As mentioned above, the show wants to make weight loss healthy. However, the reboot still lacks one major thing, the nutrition aspect. There is little attention paid to nutrition or eating. They do reference on calories once in a while but that is just as much as it gets. The show has a nutritionist, which is an improvement, but the said nutritionist skips over the steps hurriedly. The show fails to emphasize that eating less is more important, than dropping unconscious while exercising.
3. The Group Therapy Issue
Bob Harper, who is the host of the show, usually gathers the contestants for a group therapy session. The only problem with this is that Harper is not a certified therapist. This seems like a move by the show to provide Harper with a savior platform where he gets to prove that he cares about the contestants.
4. The Show Still Focuses on Shedding Off the Pounds Even After Claiming They Don’t
The show clearly still lays its focus on losing weight. If they really wanted to help people manage their weight in a healthy manner, they should get rid of the dieting method they are currently using. Sandra Aamodt, who is a nutrition author, said that the show’s weight loss focus was just another dieting plan. She added that the show could implement various measures to show that they indeed want to optimize health. She noted that cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and glucose levels were a good indicator of a person’s health other than their weight. While it is true that the show usually checks the contestants’ vitals, that fact is never mentioned on the show. The focus is always placed on weight loss.
5. Is it just for the ratings?
Reality shows capitalize on drama and ‘The Biggest Loser’ isn’t different. The fact that the show has been on TV for 18 seasons now speaks a lot about its standing. Viewers watch the show because of the intense drama and theatrics pulled off by the contestants in their bid to shed off that extra pound. Though the pressure might lay a good basis for weight loss, the emotional toll the show takes on the contestants is immeasurable. This isn’t just a matter that is affecting the participants only. According to Reality Blurred, studies show that people who watch ‘The Biggest Loser’ have a negative opinion towards overweight people. Such issues can pose a big conundrum for people who have real-life weight issues and face problems shedding off that weight. If the show actually focused on the right things, maybe there would be no show to watch. This is because fans are mostly excited by the intense moments the show has been known for.
6. The Measuring Scale and Timelines aren’t always real
The contestants on the show are usually weighed weekly and their performance is assessed. This is, however, a lie. According to Nicki Swift, the shortest period to conduct a weigh-in is 16 days. Then again, it is almost impossible to lose so much weight that fast. Another issue is the fancy weighing scale. While it is true that the contestants are weighed frequently, the numbers that appear on the scale are just for show. Apparently, the contestants are weighed 2 days prior to the actual weigh-in. this means that that snazzy and fancy scale you see is just a prop.
Verdict
While ‘The Biggest Loser’ is a show that may have people’s best intentions at heart, it sure does rub off the wrong way. The show has a good concept but the reality TV aspect of it always finds a way to creep in making everything seem scripted.
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