“Biggest Loser” Versus Bariatric Surgery: New Research from Dr. Huizenga

You root for each contestant because you understand their fight against obesity. But if you have been a long-time viewer, you may also cringe regularly. That’s because of the show’s history of devaluing weight loss surgery as a legitimate weight loss aid. More than once, Biggest Loser trainers and the head doctor, Dr. Robert Huizenga, have stated Biggest Loser methods is a better way to lose weight than surgery, which they imply is dangerous and an inappropriate solution in all cases.

New Study: Biggest Loser versus Bariatric Surgery

Are these obesity experts right to discourage weight loss surgery in the national spotlight? Or should they acknowledge bariatric surgery as a possibly beneficial weight loss approach? A lot of us would love to know more about the weight loss program on the Biggest Loser competition and how its results are compared to weight loss surgery.

Now, we can. Dr. Huizenga has published a study comparing Biggest Loser to weight loss surgery – in particular, gastric bypass. It answers a lot of questions…and raises a lot, too! Here are the basics of the study.

The Study Groups

The study compared 13 contestants on the Biggest Loser to 13 roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients. The weight loss surgery patients followed their surgeon’s standard program, including the weight loss surgery diet and any required post-surgery follow-up care and support.

Biggest Loser contestants were on the Biggest Loser Ranch until week 13 or until they got voted off and were at home until the finale. While on the ranch, they exercised for 90 minutes 6 days a week under supervision and were encouraged to exercise up to three additional hours each day on their own. Their diet included lean protein, fruits, and vegetables, and limited sugars, fats, and processed grains.

The Results

By seven months, or the time between the start of the Biggest Loser season and the show’s finale, Biggest Loser contestants were ahead of bariatric surgery patients. The average Biggest Loser weight loss was 108 pounds while weight loss surgery patients averaged a loss of 78 pounds. By the end of the year, weight loss surgery patients got to an average loss of 89 pounds.

In addition, Biggest Loser contestants lost less muscle and more body fat. However, they also had a lower resting metabolism – that is, they burned fewer calories per day than the weight loss surgery patients. That means they are more likely to put the weight back on.

These are the key findings.

• Biggest Loser contestants lost more weight at 7 months, but the gap narrowed by 12 months.
  
• Biggest Loser contestants lost more body fat.
  
• Weight loss surgery patients had a higher metabolism.
  
• Weight loss surgery patients had lower levels of leptin, a hormone related to hunger.
  

Dr. Huizenga’s Conclusions…Leading to More Unanswered Questions?

Dr. Huizenga believes this study is a compelling argument against bariatric surgery. He refers to the risk of death (1 in 1,000) from bariatric surgery, as well as the high cost of surgery. He acknowledges the high injury rates of contestants but believes these can be treated with orthopedic techniques and surgery. Hopefully, you know a good orthopedic surgeon and have good medical insurance!

Do You Watch TV for Four to Six Hours a Day?

The Biggest Loser includes 90 minutes per day of exercise under the watch of Biggest Loser trainers, plus contestants are encouraged to exercise up to another three hours a day on their own. Do you have a spare four and a half hours each day?

Dr. Huizenga has a solution. He says most people spend 4 to 6 hours per day watching television. He suggests you could spend that time exercising instead. Indeed, a Nielsen survey backs him up. However, while the numbers may sound reasonable, can that be true in real life?

• Do you really watch TV for that many hours each day?
  
• When you “watch” TV, are you just watching TV (and are, therefore, available to do exercise instead), or are you already doing something else, like folding laundry or cooking dinner?
  
• Are you willing to exercise that long each day?
  
• Are you physically able to exercise that long each day?
  

To sum it up, this is an interesting study. Certainly nobody actually wants bariatric surgery – but is there an alternative? Can you follow a Biggest Loser lifestyle and get the results you want? Dr. Huizenga thinks so, but we have our doubts. Coming up, we’ll have an easy-to-read comparison of Biggest Loser and bariatric surgery. Then, we have a few final questions to raise about the study. Stay tuned!

If you’re interested in reading the original research article by Dr. Huizenga and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, Vanderbilt University, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, you can go here.