WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "THE BIGGEST LOSER"?

The show gained its worldwide popularity (we even have our own edition of The Biggest Loser here in my country) especially in addressing the ever increasing obesity epidemic.

In my opinion, while the show has some good points such as creating inspiration & hope that anything is possible, accountability & social support, overall I think the show is quite misleading for us viewers & needs improvement because of the ff:

1. it only focuses on weight loss & not in fat loss - no wonder so many people feel frustrated whenever they don't see the scales moving down despite improving their overall physical stamina, body composition & decreasing BF%. you will never know if whether that loss consists of only pure fat or mainly muscle. its normal to not shed a pound while losing inches once in a while especially if you're gaining muscle but this show only makes us think that the scale is the only criterion to weight loss success.

2. extreme overtaining - there was one episode wherein the contestants were asked to run a mile just after they got off from the bus & one of them got collapsed while already nearing the finish line. that contestant was immediately taken to the hospital. of course since these people were not used to run like that so its not surprising at all. if you've been a couch potato for so many years, you have to do the begginer version first but from what I see, this is more like advanced versions that even some moderate exercisers couldn't even do easily. Also these people spent hours training for 7 days. we all know that we need a "rest day" for our bodies to recover.

3. the trainers are being too abusive - although sometimes we have to act tough to get people to follow but talking s**t & foul words to someone who is in need of encouragement can be demoralizing. although its only a TV show but then it will just encourage us viewers to act like that & for the obese people to feel more depressed.

The only advantage of these contestants is that they got a trainer, a nutritionist, a medical team & a complete set of exercise equipments that they can use. But otherwise, they, like us are just normal human beings who deserve to have a rest day, a more understanding approach to weight loss & not just by monetary means. Money is only an incentive for them to keep going but more importantly it should be their health. Us viewers can only look up to them for inspiration whenever we feel down & hopeless to lose either 100+ lbs. or that last stubborn 10 lbs. but not necessarily copy what they are doing in that camp.