And we thought poor Shay was larger than life. Today, NBC announced that the ninth edition of The Biggest Loser on Jan. Read the full post.
Dec 14
2009
07:04 PM ET
'The Biggest Loser': Are the contestants getting too big?
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I’m assuming TBL feels like they have to keep finding bigger and bigger people, and I don’t think we’ve gotten to the point yet where there’s anything inherently wrong with that. For the most part, contestants seem well-monitored. If they have health issues, the exercise they’re allowed to do is limited. I do have a problem with them starting the season out with a race or having the contestants work out alone in the gym – this is what led to Tracey’s collapse this season and Jerry’s last season. Early on, the contestants don’t know how hard to push themselves.
I can’t wait for Jillian to ask the father why he named his daughter SunShine. Gee, I wonder if the kids at school teased her about that?
I still love the show, but it is getting overly sensational. First it was all the product placement, now we have to watch the producers scramble to out-do themselves in searching for the heaviest contestant. It’s a nice idea to think that this show is to “help” people, but we have to remember that behind the scenes, there are people trying to get ratings. I don’t like that part of the show at all.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with using morbidly obese people. They are extremely well monitored, and if they have any health problems at all, they are yanked from the gym and into the pool, or on the bike they go! Tracey even eased her way back into working out this past season. Abbey just had shin splints and they pulled her from the gym, and she had to work out in the pool! I played basketball in college, and I can gaurentee you no one got pulled from practice for shin splints or stress fractures! Sure they are trying to get ratings, but along the way they are helping so many lives. Who cares if they are trying to get ratings as long as they are still helping people. This is the one reality show that is actually doing something good for the people on it. It is still a show though, and to keep helping people they have to get ratings! This show proves to those overweight that surgery is NOT the only answer! It inspires them to get moving! And it has introduced Jillian and Bob to a whole new set of people! Jillian’s videos are killer, and definately inspire me to get moving!!
Good points, KC. Though to comment on your comment: “This show proves to those overweight that surgery is NOT the only answer!” It actually shows that surgery is not a viable answer at all. I really appreciated that Ron was on last spring. While I didn’t like looking at his strange, post-operation stomach, it did show that having surgery is not a guarantee of weight loss, and is probably more dangerous in the long run.
I agree with all the comments here, especially with the fact that the fans want to see thin, healthy people at the finale, a 500lb person is still going to be obese at the finale so where’s the excitement there? I really wish they would do away with the COUPLES theme and have a male and female winner from now on, it’s not fair for a 250 lb woman to compete with 400lb men.
How will Shay be able to play her “I need to be here card” next season? Will she have to find a new reason to cry her way to stay on another week?
It is essential to get people moving. The level of obesity should not matter if they are still physically capable of moving that much.
As for the comment that it take two seasons for some to lose the weight, it is making excuses for the contestants who had more difficulty than others losing the weight.
Danny, this season’s winner started at 440 POUNDS and Rudy also started out at over 400 pounds at . It can be done in one season.
It is scary, because I do worry about contestants injuring (or killing!) themselves, but I also agree that the larger the person is, the more help they need. I also think it is important in a way to have such large contestants, because it shows the sad state of our country. Not to sound like the show, but obesity is a very serious issue in America, and more so here than in other countries. It is indicative, and very sad, that every season of BL is larger (literally) than the one before.