Weighing in on ‘The Biggest Loser.’
Many of my clients TiVo and watch this show. I’m regularly asked what I think about the trainers and the workouts and the results. I could use the practice in self-control so I’m going to explain my thoughts AND keep my cool.
I beg you to understand that this is television! You knew ‘The Brady Bunch’ was not a real family, right? Make believe? Acting? So is this show.
A TV network’s number one goal is to have a lot of viewers. Viewers like entertainment with lots of drama. Having many viewers leads to advertising during and sponsors of the show. This is how the network makes money.
The Biggest Loser and its trainers do not have the best interests of their clients. I find the show wholly unprofessional, uneducated in basic fitness and extremely negligent. This may make for good television but it often isn’t thoughtful or smart.
Please witness this extreme example of horrible training by trainer, Jillian Michaels. (I could give many more.)
In the beginning of a season, Michaels was working with a group of obese men. In what she has decided is her inspiring manner, she challenged the men to a race by yelling,“You guys are pitiful, I’ll bet none of you can beat me—a woman—in a race right now!” Setting aside how self-serving this comment is; a misguided gender insult is not a healthy way to motivate! Moving on to the main offense…
Challenging obese men who have rarely ventured off the couch in two decades to an all-out sprint is extremely dangerous! She should know that an instant high-intensity workout would be strenuous to their hearts and joints. Bullied into it, half the men accepted the challenge of a 100 yrd dash. During the race, one of them BLEW OUT HIS KNEE, REQUIRING FULL RECONSTRUCTION, AND AS A RESULT HAD TO LEAVE THE SHOW! The contestant spent the next weeks in recovery—unable to exercise—feeding the already present problem. This is only ONE example of GROSS negligence on the trainer’s part.
(Subsequently, visiting her site, I found this type of negligence an overall theme. She groups exercises together for people whose current level of activity wouldn’t allow them to execute it properly and/or in a way that could be hazardous.)
Ask yourself: if the show is looking the other way on something so obvious as possible knee injuries, what other principles are they ignoring? And I don’t see exercise choices or a program tailored to specific individuals. I see insults and intimidation to inspire people who have made consistently bad health decisions. These quick fixes are combined with a dramatic experience that makes for good TV.
At it’s best, the show is exploitive. At it’s worst, it’s dangerous. And this may be rough to hear, but many of us have had trials and tribulations in our life and still managed to consistently make fairly healthy choices. (Even gaining a few here and there.) But If you research these contestants after the show you will find that most are right back where they were before. That may also say more about their psychological states but it also goes to show that quick fixes do not work and shortcuts taken today have consequences tomorrow.
Hey, if Family Guy needs a disclaimer at the beginning of each show, so does The Biggest Loser. It should read “This show is for entertainment purposes only.”
Enjoy Your Exercise. Enjoy Your Day.
