The Extreme Reality of The Biggest Loser

When I was twenty-five years old my best friend and roommate was battling a weight issue.  I jokingly developed a “diet” for him. I would post fat shaming messages on our refrigerator door designed to shame him into not eating as much. There would be notes that said, “Don’t touch that pizza fatty!” and “Are you pants tighter this morning?”

We jokingly referred to it as “The Cuban Insult Diet”, a: joke” between friends but it was innately cruel and indicative of the stigma associated with weight.  In the end, I was repeating the cycle of fat shaming directed at me as an overweight child.  Of course the “diet”” did not work and fortunately, we are still friends to this day.  I, however, never forgot the words and attitudes directed to my friend.  The weight-stigmatizing framework of life I inflicted.

Weight Stigma is real.  I know.  I was teased, fat shamed, bullied and physically assaulted over my weight as a child, because I was “different” in size.  The end result was exercise anorexia as well as twenty-seven years of bulimia, depression and drug addiction. I was fortunate that I was able to step forward into recovery and develop a relatively healthy sense of my body and exercise.  It is with this in mind that I am skeptical of the societal value of extreme weight loss reality shows such as The Biggest Loser, a show that on the surface seems to work weight loss miracles.

The “reality” however, is that they portray an entertainment based “false front” of proper exercise and nutrition by advocating extreme weight lose measures.  Obese individuals on the show lose lots of weight, seemingly headed to a headed to a longer life and healthy, slimmed down lifestyle. Along the way, they get much more than notes on a refrigerator door.  They endure, yelling, bullying, and exercise to the point of vomiting and other indignities, “Fat Shaming” to the extreme.

Regardless of whether the show works for any particular contestant, it is difficult keeping the weight off long term.  At least one recent study found that such extreme weight loss reality TV shows actually promote weight bias by reinforcing weight and diet stereotypes, unrealistic weight loss goals, as well as the fallacy that losing healthy weight and keeping it off is as simple as going on a television show.

It is with this in mind that I am extremely troubled by the intention of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, to appear on The Biggest Loser. The tactics used on the show are not something the First Lady of the United States should be endorsing.  She should be advocating healthy lifestyle and healthy exercise free of bullying and fat shaming.  Please join me in protesting her appearance on the show by signing this petition.

References:
[1]: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/01/23/when-science-met-the-biggest-loser

Brian Cuban is a an author whose Amazon best-selling book “Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder,” chronicles his first-hand experiences living with, and recovering from eating disorders and Body Dysmorphia Disorder (BDD).  Based in Dallas, Texas, Cuban is also the segment host for “Brian Cuban’s Legal Briefs” on EyeOpenerTV, and founder of his blog, The Cuban Revolution. Additionally Cuban is a lawyer and activist specializing in 1st Amendment issues and hate speech and has lectured on the topic in major media outlets and conferences around the world.  For more information, visit www.briancuban.com