A Problem with The Biggest Loser

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Problem: The Biggest Loser I like watching The Biggest Loser. I don’t look forward to it like Heroes, but it’s still a good show to watch while I’m multi-tasking. Sometimes it sits waiting on my DVR for a few weeks. I just finished watching the season finale, which is old news by this point. Something hit me though…

…The way they evaluate weight loss seems flawed. Everyone has a healthy minimum weight. The doctors wouldn’t allow a 90lb woman to continue to lose weight for example (unless she was really short). More than likely, they would probably stop her from dropping under 110. Watch Ali, this year’s winner end up around 120 pounds is pretty much a good range. That means she had a “limit” that depended on where she entered the contest. If she entered at 200 pounds that limit would be about a 45% before she hit the 110 mark, not enough to win the competition this year without going to the unhealthy site.

And what of the men? I believe they allow some men to start at the 400 pound weight. One could imagine that a healthy weight for a guy could be 170. We could argue that it’s much lower - Bernie weighed around 153 at the end this year and looked great. If we use that 170 number, the 400 pound man’s limit would have the potential of 57% weight loss. It seems like those who start out the worse have the potential to do much better.

So what’s the solution? I’m not sure I know. Perhaps you take into body fat measurements? That’s difficult as well because women are supposed to have more body fat than men. Maybe you can do that, but crown a King and Queen Biggest Loser?

In the end, I’m being nit-picky. It seems like all the contestants lost a lot of weight, while inspiring many viewers to do the same. That’s a really the point right?

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Posted by Lazy Man on May 2, 2008 in Weight Loss.

3 Responses to “A Problem with The Biggest Loser”

Jennifer Says:
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
I would love to see 2 seasons of The Biggest Loser… one being all men competing, and the other all women.
Writer's Coin Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 am
Still though, that’s a great, uplifting show. Right up there with Extreme Home Makeover
Nadine Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I love the show. Its not realistic because they lose too much too quickly. It makes people want to lose weight, but it can also discourage them because they’re not losing like the contestants.

Your ideal weight is defined the Medical Association, based on your age and height. At 5′3, the healthy range is 105 to 141. I just refuse to be 105, so I’m aiming for 135-140.