Disturbing Biggest Loser article

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  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Most of these contestants either gain all the weight back or have eating disorders. I stopped watching that show a long time ago!!
  • FancyPantsFran
    FancyPantsFran Posts: 3,687 Member
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    Wow how sad. Wonder what else is going on that she didn't mention. Never really watched much of that show at all..
  • rowlandsw
    rowlandsw Posts: 1,166 Member
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    I just read that. I'm not surprised but i am shocked nobody died on that show. it's complete trash and anyone with a professional license involved should lose it be it the doctors or the trainers.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand it's cruel, but these are adults and they agree to go through with it. Nobody is forcing them.
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand it's cruel, but these are adults and they agree to go through with it. Nobody is forcing them.

    That's what I was thinking. I mean, no, I don't approve of the methods, personally. However, it's a reality show and anyone who's even seen the show once will know it's all about the drama, ridiculously fat weight loss, grueling workouts and so on.

    It's sad the contestants allow the BL staff to treat them so badly.

    Well, they have to. They're under contract. But they DO sign that contract...and again...if they've ever seen the show (and I'd for sure be watching a show before I went on it), I think a lot of this must be covered, or there'd be lawsuits galore, I would imagine.

    That's not to say ANYONE should ever be allowed to treat anyone badly...but it's a sensationalist show, a "reality" show, and these are notorious for being at least semi-scripted and for monkey wrenches being thrown in for viewability. If there were no gasps and groans and "Oh my GODs" from the audience, there would be no show. I think most reasonable people realize this. And of course, a lot of those gasps of "shock" wouldn't come if anything were to be leaked in advance, hence the policed phone calls and so on.

    Once again. Not saying I enjoy seeing anyone being treated badly. I do feel for the people on the show, whether they realized what they were in for or not. Perhaps the draw of being able to finally lose gigantic amounts of weight convinced them that somehow it would all be okay. I do understand that kind of desperation.

    I have watched The Biggest Loser exactly once, and personally, that was more than enough for me.

    The Biggest Loser is a popular program, and it's clear that extreme methods are used to obtain weight loss. For someone to sign a contract that they will even participate in such extreme methods speaks volumes about a person's desperation. This raises red flags as to self esteem.

    The article is not about scripted drama, but about the shaming and weight loss techniques behind the scenes.

    Anybody can break a contract, even though there would be ramifications, so, no, a person does not have to stay. It's a choice.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    Serah87 wrote: »
    Most of these contestants either gain all the weight back or have eating disorders. I stopped watching that show a long time ago!!

    I can't stand that show.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited January 2015
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    segacs wrote: »
    Heck, anyone who hangs around MFP long enough sees twenty people a day (often teens) coming to the forum expecting to lose weight as fast as the contestants do on the Biggest Loser, and willing to resort to extreme and unhealthy means to do it.

    I've never seen that on MFP. All kinds of people wanting to lose weight fast, a bunch willing to eat very low cal, but I have yet to see an MFPer committing to VLC and extremely high levels of exercise.

  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    I remember someone on celebrity boot camp or whatever the vh1 BL spinoff had to be given oxygen during a challenge because they were taking those crappy weightloss pills.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I'm so torn on this. It's horrid, but they weren't prisoners who were forced to do these things. They could just walk away.

    I wonder if NBC hired shrinks to check these people out. If so, the shrinks would've been able to spot the weak and stupid and say, "This one has self-esteem issues." No matter how cocky or "Yeah! I'm on top of this!" they behaved, it would've been caught.

    If NBC used that info to select people and purposely choose the weak and/or stupid ones, that's another story. If that's the case, I blame NBC.

    After a run one day, I told my friend that I really thought I was going to puke that time. I pushed too hard, I knew it even while I was doing it, "I should stop," but I really wanted to do it. I said that next time, I'd stop, it's not worth all that. "No!" she exclaims, "That's good! That's how they do it on the Biggest Loser! You're supposed to do that!" Supposed to or not, I'm not doing it again. That's crazy and stupid and I shouldn't have done it at all.

    This show is teaching people that you're supposed to push yourself beyond good sense, though. That's what I got from my short, "You're supposed to do that!" conversation.

    I never watched the show because it looked stupid. Now I'm glad.

    I bet this drives the ratings up, if anything, though.
  • russkiballerina
    russkiballerina Posts: 53 Member
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    Whoa, they won't stop or pay serious attention to this until someone actually dies on camera. This entire "fierce, ruthless competition" thing is disgusting and the way they treat the competitors is just so wrong. I watched a few episodes and it made me want to cry, it's like those people don't know what compassion or empathy is.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    What is the reward for being the biggest loser? A lot of cash? Honestly never watched it. What do you win?
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,361 Member
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    I was just reading the article, and even if only half true...entertainment for the masses comes at a great cost to those participating.

    It is easy to say that they can always leave...but I wonder if people are so desperate that they can't bring themselves to leave, that this is their last ditch effort to lose weight, that or an element of stockholm syndrome (not that they kidnapped of course). It addition, I guess there is also loss of face..these people have made grand announcems about what they are doing, embarrassing weigh ins in front of family and friends.

    I won't be watching the Australian version this year, but ratings must be good, otherwise it still wouldn't be on the telly.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    rowlandsw wrote: »
    I just read that. I'm not surprised but i am shocked nobody died on that show. it's complete trash and anyone with a professional license involved should lose it be it the doctors or the trainers.

    100% agree.
  • xsix
    xsix Posts: 62 Member
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    Wow......man that article, not good.
  • gitana2015
    gitana2015 Posts: 6
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    Omg it's horrible
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    What is the reward for being the biggest loser? A lot of cash? Honestly never watched it. What do you win?

    http://theashleysrealityroundup.com/2011/05/29/your-biggest-loser-questions-answered/

    Q: Do the Biggest Losers get paid to be on the show?

    A: Yes, the make a stipend for being on the show. One season it was $900 a week but I don’t know how much it currently is. This is how some of the people are able to support their families despite being gone for so long.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Nobody forced these people to be on the show. They were all in it for the vanity, fame, and prize money to begin with. Can't really feel sorry for them agreeing to go to extremes for such superficial reasons. Zero sympathy on my end.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    Nobody forced these people to be on the show. They were all in it for the vanity, fame, and prize money to begin with. Can't really feel sorry for them agreeing to go to extremes for such superficial reasons. Zero sympathy on my end.

    yeah, it's sort of like survivor. those people were starving. they knew what they were getting into as well.

    as someone who has zero desire to ever be on tv, i can't relate to this and hard to have any sympathy.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    It's not about sympathy for the contestants, though. You have to assume that when there's money and fame involved, there will always be people who are willing to do ridiculous things to get on TV.

    It's about whether NBC and the show's creators (and everyone associated with it) are responsible for the damage that they're doing to millions of people who watch. I say yes.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    Nobody forced these people to be on the show. They were all in it for the vanity, fame, and prize money to begin with. Can't really feel sorry for them agreeing to go to extremes for such superficial reasons. Zero sympathy on my end.

    I doubt they have a full understanding of the risks involved. I doubt it's completely informed consent. Then, they're in a contract. I see this as the show taking advantage of people.

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