The season finale for season 16 (wha?!) of The Biggest Loser airs January 29, and millions of people (about 7 million a week) tune in to cheer for the contestants who lose dramatic amounts of weight on the show.
But as last season's Loser came to a close, controversy reigned when winner Rachel Frederickson took the stage. With a 155-pound weight loss, the 5-foot-4-inch, 105-pound Frederickson was beneath what medical professionals deem a healthy BMI. But, it wasn't the numbers that alarmed viewers so much as her dramatically thin appearance.
Season three's Kai Hibbard has spoken out before about the show's brutal tactics, and the eating disorder she developed after filming the initial three months on the ranch, and she's speaking out again about what she calls “a fat-shaming disaster that I’m embarrassed to have participated in.”
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Fake Foods
"Your grocery list is approved by your trainer,” Hibbard tells The New York Post. “My season had a lot of Franken-foods: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray, Kraft fat-free cheese, Rockstar Energy Drinks, Jell-O.”
Health Concerns
“My hair was falling out,” Kai says. “My period stopped. I was only sleeping three hours a night.”
“My hair was falling out,” Kai says. “My period stopped. I was only sleeping three hours a night.”
Beyond Intense Workouts
After months of all day workouts, Kai went home and her boyfriend took her straight to the doctor, who said Kai "had such severe shin splints that she didn’t know how I was still walking.”
After months of all day workouts, Kai went home and her boyfriend took her straight to the doctor, who said Kai "had such severe shin splints that she didn’t know how I was still walking.”
The appeal of The Biggest Loser is easy to understand. We love a transformative story with a "happy" ending (assuming, as the show does, that weight loss leads to happiness), crying friends and family, all wrapped up in the guise of "being healthy" and inspiring.
But with experts generally agreeing a one to two pound a week weight loss is healthy, and most of the contestants putting weight back on within days of leaving the show (one former winner claims he gained weight right away by drinking water) we can't help but find The Biggest Loser pretty troubling.