This may seem cynical, but....if my winning $100,000 depended on me both participating in the temptations AND losing weight, it'd be tempting for me (with no eating disorder history) to throw up whatever oreos I ate. I mean, that is a LOT of motivation to lose, healthy or unhealthy.

I see an ad for ALLI right next to the menu!

I've heard several times on 3fc that the weigh in periods are not a week, but I've been watching recently and they talk about how people were on the campus nearly four months (which sounds right for the number of weeks) and the contestants, trainers, and host often discuss "last week's weigh in" and things like that. That's either a lot of coaching to get it right or a lot of editing...

I'm certainly skeptical of the numbers they pull, but I'm also skeptical of the claim that all the weigh ins are longer than a week (which is what I first heard on 3fc). Now it sounds like people are saying some weigh ins are longer than a week and others shorter? Where is that info from?

From the show's nutritionist, Dr. Jen's, blog on NBC.com:

I do have a lot of problems with the show, but it doesn't stop me from watching. In some ways I think the ethics are on par (sometimes below) Jerry Springer (which I can't watch, except for five minutes here or there in a "train wreck" kind of way if I'm channel surfing). I find it motivating to see and hear other people's struggles with weight, even when I think they're "doing it wrong." So I watch for very selfish reasons, but I'm not really proud of it. I think there are terrible flaws in the show, that I would love to see corrected (though I think they'd make the show interesting only to people who understood the dynamics of "real" weight loss, mostly those overweight themselves, eliminating 2/3 or more of the audience).


I think it's truly a modern "Gladiator" competition in all the positives and negatives the concept entails. Science Fiction of the 60's and 70's gave us horrific predictions of reality tv, and those predictions haven't been all that far off. We may see someone die on television as a result of these shows, and I'm not sure that it would make the shows any less popular (perhaps the reverse). We're as sadistic a culture as the ancient romans, we just consider ourselves morally superior and "cleaner." We may bathe more often, but the blood lust is still there. These are adults and if they read the releases I'm sure they have to sign (promising not to sue if they are injured or die) they know what they're getting into. Still, if someone does die or is seriously hurt, isn't it at least partially the responsibility of the audience. Without an audience would a single gladiator, Christian or animal died in the colliseum?

The Biggest Loser is not a public service announcement, or a PBS documentary on weight loss. It is profit-motivated entertainment, and truth and reality do not matter, entertainment is the bottom line. From the start, you can see that not all contestants have the same chance to win, the 217 pound woman cannot beat the 430 lb man. Yes, comparing the percentage of excess weight and body composition would be more fair, but I would guess that focus groups and test audiences have shown this not to be as entertaining.

What's insidious about the show is that even when you "know better" it's hard not to get wrapped up in the fictional world in which a 7 lb loss is a failure. We do know that unrealistic media examples do exacerbate eating disorders, and there are children and teens watching these shows who might get warped ideas about dieting and exercise. And on the other hand, there are so few programs that even try to address the issue of weight loss and healthy eating (even if done poorly).

Thanks, Amanda! Sounds like though, that the overall production schedule was 14 weeks or so... in other words, there may be variations in the number of days, but it's not like they were there for 26 weeks and pretended it was 14...

I enjoy the show but do feel it does a disservice to real world weight loss (and the role of body fat!) for many of the reasons mentioned.

Right - the production schedule doesn't shift, but if that is the case, then for every 10-day week, they have to cut 3 days from other weeks - so some are longer and some are shorter.

I got a bad taste in my mouth reading about Kai eating nothing but asparagus and sugar free jello for 5 days before the final weigh-in and spending 6 hours in a sauna the night before.

Don't they excersize like 7 hrs a day? or a few times a day for hours at a time? They have personal trainers and show them how to cook. They don't have house chores or work while they are there either. I'd think that has some to do with it.

Check out this link -- Kai from Alaska and TBL Season 3 answers some questions from the point of view of a contestant! Found this through google!
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ndID=127168868
Also found THIS news article concerning an investigation of TBL:
http://www.mmdnewswire.com/attorney-...oser-2203.html
Maya

Reality TV isn't very real at all and I don't believe ANYTHING said on camera. Look at The Amazing Race - the racers very clearly ask for 2 airline tickets, every time they buy tickets. They really get 4 every time (one for each racer and 2 for each production person traveling with them). That's about as believable as "last week's weigh-in!"

I didn't know it wasn't really a week. I always figured if I had someone(s) hounding me over every calorie I ate, and exercised for 5 hours per day, I'd lose that much.

The people on Fat March lost a decent amount - no Biggest Loser numbers, but still a more-than-average number.

The only reality TV I really like is Survivor Man. The guy goes out all my himself, lol. He'll set up his camera, walk a mile to get a dramatic shot, then walk back to get his gear!

My concern is that folks will try to go from a sedentary lifestyle to total overexertion. I think the show portrays pushing oneself to excessive limits. Exercise is important but definitely needs to be something that one builds on, not suddenly going from nothing to hours of exercise. I cannot imagine the stress it places on the body and I fear someone with heart or blood sugar problems could seriously endanger their health as a result. Last night's show could have made a point with the guy who had to go to the hospital but I think most folks missed it with all the focus on the exercise and competition.

Good point poohs. It's also not just the stress of jumping in, but couple that with doing it WRONG. These people are CONSTANTLY monitored by a team of medical professionals, their trainers, even lawyers. They probably also have EMTs on staff. Someone starting out at home could push their limits and either a) overdue it into a heart attack or b) do the exercise wrong a tear a ligament.

My personal take on the whole thing is this ~ I think Reality TV has been around long enough now that most people realize it IS NOT REAL. I think most people realize the truth is "embellished".

I do think, however, that The Biggest Loser does a "fair" job in telling viewers that losing weight needs to be done with a healthy diet and exercise.

As much as can be done so that we will watch.

From Kai's blog that Maya posted, it seems that the contestants may not be getting the supervision that is implied or even directly reported by the show. That is disturbing, because I think we have all assumed that the contestants are being closely monitored, supported, and taught "healthy" weight loss, even if they are "unofficially" encouraged to do whatever it takes to win. It looks like this might be a great big load of crap. If as Kai stated, the nondisclosure agreement for the contestants is expiring, we may hear more "horror stories" from prior contestants.

This is what worried me in the beginning, that the releases, nondisclosure agreements and contestant contracts might be written in a way that protects the show, but not the contestants. If contestants have signed away all of their rights, the show has no obligation to protect the contestants from illness or death. In fact, illness, injuries, and even death might make for good ratings. Ambulances may be "standing by," but it's for the drama of the show not the health of the contestants.

I'm not saying that the show producers or the trainers or the on-staff doctors are intentionally wishing harm to the contestants, but they may not be taking the health of the contestants as seriously as they would if they were not protected from lawsuits by the documents the contestants signed.