On the heels of our post about reality television shows that just need to end, a surprise announcement about the next season of the Biggest Loser has been released. Not only is Jillian Michaels returning to the show (she took a season off to focus on motherhood and other projects) but the 14th season has another shocker for us- contestants between the ages of 13 and 17. The teenage contestant won’t be weighed on screen and won’t be subject to elimination, and it appears they are participating to help shed light on the childhood obesity epidemic.
Excuse me for reverting to the cynical person that lurks beneath my bubbly exterior, but all I could think when I read that was “Wow, anything for viewership, eh?”
What exactly is the point of including teenage contestants if they are not subject to the premise of the show? I hardly believe it is to help combat childhood obesity, and I fear that instead we’ll be treated to tearful monologues from exploited kids who will shed light on just how mean other kids can be to someone who is overweight. I’m sure there will also be scenes with the show’s physician who will explain to these kids all the damage they are doing to their bodies (diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, etc.) while dramatic music runs in the background and the child cries about what their future might hold.
The truth is, childhood obesity is a problem in America. Adults are not doing the best job they can teaching kids the virtues of good eating habits and staying active. The statistics are worse for children of low income families and certain minority groups. And while I fully support education and outreach, I draw the line at public shaming on reality television. Furthermore, by presenting childhood obesity in this shameful manner I believe that we teach kids that being kind to others only applies to their skinny peers. I want to teach my child that it is their job to be kind to everyone while also imparting lessons of balanced food choices and the benefits of an active lifestyle. Shows like the Biggest Loser often make those two ideals seem mutually exclusive.
The Biggest Loser can certainly be an inspiring show for some, but critics have long held that the lessons learned on the Ranch are more about physical extremes than teaching balanced eating and maintaining a regular lifestyle. I worry what that means for an impressionable teenagers both on the show and watching at home. Pun intended, I think that this is the biggest loser of an idea that the show has ever had.
Image courtesy of NBC.com
What do you think? Are teenage contestants a good idea for the Biggest Loser?
Daisy is a lawyer married to a lawyer (insert lawyer jokes here) living in a small condo in a big city with a new baby and beagle. She breaks up the legal-speak by blogging about life in Chicago, which is filled with escapades of urban living. In the summer she enjoys patio dining and in the winter wonders what she was thinking when she moved here. You can read more from Daisy on her blog, Just Daisy.
Pardon my french but, WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!?
Ok, i’m going to try to compose myself enough to say, stop it, America. Stop it.
Public shaming, does NOT work. Equating acceptance with looks and size is NOT the way to go.
I have no doubt that many teens have serious health implications due to weight, and addressing them through programs NOT on public television would be awesome. Teaching them acceptance and also dealing with the emotional baggage many of us carry? Now there’s a novel idea.
Hrm. Your points are interesting. I will admit, my first response was “good for them”. You are right, the show is extreme, there is no doubt about it. Also, as kids, “fixing” them on the show will do nothing if the family at home isn’t changed as well. But, I still think it will be an interesting dynamic. I will watch, because I am a sucker for it, and am very interested to see how they fold this story line in.
I hope the next “twist” they add is putting on the mom with about 40 pounds to lose who just can’t find the time (or motivation). When they do that, sign me up!
Tracey – I totally agree about the motherhood thing! Not long after Jillian announced the arrival of her kids she posted something apologizing to moms for not getting it earlier!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-belkin/jillian-michaels-apologizes_b_1554552.html?ref=parents
See, but even that article annoys me. She “gets it” after being a mom for three months? Um. Sorry sister. Do it for a decade or so. Shuttle kids between pick up and drop off and to their 2 or 3 afterschool sports. then go to work in between. Then bring your preteen boy home and try to do his algebra homework until 10 at night.
Ugh. so annoying!
If the kids will not be weighed in on camera or subject to the elimination, which brings rude judgements and such, I fail to see how this is public shaming. These kids likely signed up for the show themselves. They are probably excited about the weight loss opportunity and also helping bring a relatable cast of characters to the younger population. Perhaps some teenager watching the show will see someone similar in body type and hear what the BL doctor is saying, take it to heart, and make changes early in life.
I see the potential for this to be an interesting and inspiring new endeavor. I just hope it does not turn into Jillian Michaels the psychologist b/c that is really annoying!!!
Erin, I agree. While this approach may not be the best for reducing teenage/child obesity rates, I think putting teenagers on the show can send a positive message that obesity – at any age – should be taken seriously and changes can be implemented to help one work towards a healthier weight.
wow. well now anyone cause lose a shit ton of weight in a completely unhealthy amount of time if all they’re doing is working out for ungodly amounts of time a day. duh. BUT. over all….SERIOUSLY!?!?! WTF!!?! There needs to be a healthier way to go about this! i hate this show for the main reason of “well duh….if i was being screamed at, filmed, and shamed for 6 plus hours a day while working out, yeah i’d totally lose all this weight too!” i wanna see the long term effects. what happens when these people go back to their normal lives, work, schedules, kids and can’t work out all day everyday for 5+ hours? and then do this to kids!?!? i know when i dropped from a size 14 in the beginning of 9th grade to ending in a size 7 (thanks marching band) i wore clothes like my peers…the comments went from “oh hey tubby” to “well…hello slut”….umm…..yeah….still confused by that. what’s it going to do to their mental well being after they lose all this weight on national tv to then go back to living their lives!?!?!
Quite a few of the old contestants just gain much of the weight back because who the heck can realistically keep up a 6 hour gym day while running a regular life? This show should have died a long time ago.
This is a bad idea on so many levels. And pardon me if I think that Jillian (who has publicly said she does not want kids because they’d wreck her body) has NO FUCKING idea what dealing with the emotions and needs of a teenager, weight issues or not, is about!
Actually Jillian Michaels was overweight as a teenager so I do think she knows what it is about.
She was?
Yeah. I can’t link an article because I’m On my phone but it was one of the reasons she got so into fitness an became a trainer!
Hmmm. I saw this and thought it was kind of a good thing. Hear me out.
They’re not publicly weighing these kids, they’re all going voluntarily and there’s the potential that it will inspire other kids to make healthy changes. That all sounds great to me. They’re going to get positive attention for trying to make a healthy change in their lives. I just don’t see the shaming here, and as a former fat kid/teenager, I am incredibly sensitive to this kind of thing.
I do think the whole thing will be a colossal waste if they don’t pull the parents in for education on healthy eating and exercise too.
I see your argument, I wonder though, at that age, that they truly realize the long term effect of putting themselves in this public situation is, though?
At what age do you truely realize the long term effect of a situation like this until you actually go through it?
Who hasn’t thought about going on the show to get a quick fix?
I don’t know, I think that’s the point. Will they regret when they are 20 or 30 that as teens they decided to go on a reality television show about their weight? If it doesn’t work, will it follow them around haunting them?
I’m not speaking for them, I simply wondering, because being overweight as a teen, I think in a heartbeat I would have agreed to go on that show, but looking back now, I don’t know that I would have wanted my teen self to have done that.
Related confession: When The Swan was on TV, I kinda sorta wanted to be on it. And I kind of hated myself for that.
I think this is absolutely fucking awful. The Biggest Loser doesn’t create a healthy environment for it’s adult contestants, and these poor teenagers won’t be given anything better. This is a great read about what actually goes on at TBL http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/06/16/kai-hibbard-biggest-loser-finalist-part-2-of-3/
But even worse, to my mind, is that we keep focusing on fat. We will NEVER be rid of fat children, just as we will never be rid of fat adults, because people are different. Some are tall, some are short, some are brown, some are pink, some have lots of hair, some have none–just as some are fat, and some are not. Why can’t we focus on ACTUAL health instead of assuming that everyone that’s overweight needs some sort of health intervention? We should be eating healthy things especially as children because they help us grow and gain strength. We should be moving because it keeps us healthy. THE END. But as long as we keep trying to eradicate pudgy kids, we are telling children that it’s not how kind you are, it’s not how smart you are, it’s not how you treat other people…it’s how you LOOK that will bring the most judgement. Sickening.
I think the premise of this show might be troubling in a couple of ways, but I don’t quite understand where the claims about “public shaming” are coming from. I’m a fan of “The Biggest Loser.” I was a fan when I was obese, I was a fan when I was losing weight, and I’m still a fan on the other end as I try to maintain my weight loss. I find the contestants inspiring, and while some aspects of the show (e.g. product placements & silly challenges) are not my favorite, I still think it’s worth a watch. As a fan of the show, I don’t watch it to “shame” the contestants, but I guess it’s plausible that I’m blissfully ignorant of “shaming” that occurs on the internet or in other “public” spheres.
I think the more troubling part of this whole thing is that it seems like the next season will feature “mixed” teams of adult and teen contestants. Hopefully the teens know or are related to the adult contestants they’ll be living and working with–otherwise it just seems like a recipe for disaster from a developmental standpoint! I also wonder about something Brittany mentioned above–in the long run, is agreeing to be on a show like “The Biggest Loser” healthy (mentally/emotionally speaking) for 13-17 year olds??
I saw this and thought yay! finally!
I do not see the public shaming at all. In fact, I totally see the opposite. I think that by not publicly weighing them and subjecting them to elimination they will actually be there to get healthy and lose weight and learn valuable lessons along the way, not “play the game” like the adults tend to do.
This is the age (13-17) that needs to be taught how to be active and live a healthy lifestyle and learn about healthy eating choices.
I love this site and what it does for body image acceptance. I don’t agree one bit with teaching a child to be accepting of obesity. I certainly wouldn’t partake in any kind of “shaming” but I do truly believe that it needs to be dealt with in a positive way and effective way. I think that if adults that are obese now had been taught those lessons when they were young, they likely wouldn’t be obese now. Plus, these kids just might find a community that they are accepted into. One that knows how it feels and one that supports them. That alone will be worth it.
BUT. The education needs to be carried through to the families as well. If the parents aren’t going to help, then these kids will fall right back into old habits when they go home.
Any parent that allows television to exploit their kid is negligent. Those poor kids! And this applies to all reality programming…life is hard enough without an audience.
Or, maybe we could watch how it’s done and then make judgements?
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
The show is meant to be an inspiration to the viewers! I don’t know how many times I have made myself go to the gym to watch so I don’t feel guilty! I have also watched it while eating M&Ms because seriously, it’s a great show either way!
I hope this show inspires my kid to want to be healthy before he becomes morbidly obese as I am sure the teens on this show probably will be.
I believe the people who are involved in this show specifically to help the obesity problem in this country are hoping for more of a trickle down effect rather than having people do the exact same thing the contestants do.
I am not sure if one commenter got it in their heads that the parents are not involved or if it has been made public but I absolutely agree with KtP, we should wait and watch!!
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