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

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I am one of those who HATES this show. I don't find it heartwarming in the slightest. I call it "fat porn". The few glimpses I saw of it I found the way they speak and the manner in which they treat these people to be completely dehumanizing. Then there's the articles like this one in the NY POST in which a former contestant spoke about the unhealthy things the show has them do in order to lose weight. The other troubling thing is that there is no option for a more natural diet plan. The show has sponsors so they are always promoting some diet food of sorts.

Then there's the sampling in this so called study. This show has been on for what, 10 years? The best they could do was 26 people? I call BS on that.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

I did a little "research" of my own recently. We've all seen the "where are they now" articles and news pieces about some of the past Biggest Loser contestants that mostly feature those who have managed to keep *most* of the weight off. Almost all of them seem to be professional trainers or professional Biggest Loser contestants who just travel around the country attending events and giving speeches and they clearly need to keep up their appearances as ambassadors for the show. Well, I decided to look up some of the contestants we haven't heard from or seen since the early days of the show. I tracked down their Facebook, instagram, and twitter feeds to see if I could find recent pics of them. Most of those I found appear to have regained all of the weight and then some. It's very unfortunate, as I had really rooted for those people back when they were on the show. Matt from Season 1 was a really big blow to me. He was one of my favorites and to see him now MUCH bigger than he'd been at the start of the show was very sad.

[KIM10 4]

I have seen the show and it's good to promote healthy living however I have also been moved by the stories of the contestants that have regained the weight which I think is a main issue for most people with weight problems

Having surgery isn't going to be easy you still have to diet and exercise its just like having an extra tool like fat binders or carb blockers but it's extremely big deal to have surgery it's just like having a tumour cut out it will help slow down the progression of the tumour but the medication has to be apart of the the treatment in Oder for it to work long term

[Sunshine_Gal 68]

@@JamieLogical This is my question exactly.

I'd like to see long term stats at the comparison of the percentage of weight that remains off at five or ten years. I would bet a hole in a donut that WLS patients knock the socks off of the Biggest Loser contestants.

We've all been there at one time or another and lost a large amount of weight only to have real life kick in --- and what happens --- we gained it all back and then some. Now tell me, how realistic is it to assume we will exercise four to six hours daily for the rest of our lives.

Thanks Alex this is a great topic!

[vincereautmori 323]

The bottom line, what are the long term statistics,2 years out, 5 years out????? I would be willing to bet, Biggest Loser......loses! This is about sustaining a lifestyle change, how many BL contestants will keep dedicating 3-4 hours a day to exercise while trying to live in the actual work a day world? Besides, how do you take many thousands of bits of data on WLS vs. significantly less available data for BL patients and make an accurate comparison? This is like saying, let's compare the speed of a man running against the speed of an F-16, in the first few seconds the man is faster than the jet, after that........

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

My band dims my appetite for 4 hours between meals and I am no longer ravenous.

***drops mic***