The Biggest Loser

[roopy]

Read this article the other day - but i notice it has been changed since i read it first. It originally contained much stronger claims about how much the reported weight loss could be dangerous.

This man wants to be the biggest loser
JILL STARK

February 14, 2010

Shannon Bourke

GROSSLY overweight, out of condition and addicted to junk food. This year's Biggest Loser contestants were a sorry bunch when their weight loss ''journey'' began screening a fortnight ago. Many tipped the scales at more than 170 kilograms.
Now, just weeks after taking up exercise, participants in Channel Ten's hit weight loss show are preparing for a marathon.
In a move that has horrified sports physicians, contestants will tackle the gruelling 42 kilometre road race after only 11 weeks of training.
The marathon is expected to provide a dramatic end to the show's fifth series as all eliminated contestants will be eligible to compete, the two fastest finishers re-entering the game for one last chance at the Biggest Loser title and its $200,000 prize.
Health experts have warned the inexperienced participants risk a heart attack or long-term health problems if they attempt a distance roughly equivalent to running from Melbourne to Frankston.
Sports medicine expert Peter Brukner said to safely prepare for a marathon they should be training for up to a year.
''All these people are obese, presumably a lot of them have got cardiovascular risk factors, high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure … There is a risk of an acute cardiovascular event like a heart attack … The thought of them going from nought to a marathon in 11 weeks is just crazy,'' Dr Brukner said.
Shannon Bourke, the show's heaviest contestant at 214 kilograms, collapsed attempting a four-kilometre run in the first challenge of the series. Doctors discovered the Epping man had fractures in both legs and possible shin splints.
Victorian Institute of Sport medical co-ordinator, Dr Peter Harcourt, warned that attempting a marathon without appropriate preparation could lead to musculoskeletal problems, inflamed joints and acute stress fractures, particularly if runners were overweight.
The concerns come amid allegations that the show's producers are misleading viewers by claiming contestants have lost up to 17 kilograms in a week. There are fears viewers may try to emulate the results instead of aiming for healthy weight loss, considered to be between 0.5 and one kilogram per week.
Dr Leon Massage, who runs a private weight loss clinic, said he had treated a former Biggest Loser contestant who told him weigh-ins - presented on the show as weekly events - could actually take place several weeks apart.
''I think they're trying to impress the audience with the degree of weight loss … They create unreal expectations for the people who are watching it who think that it [weight loss] is weekly … I can't imagine that someone would lose 17 kilos in a week without doing damage to themselves,'' Dr Massage said.
When asked by The Sunday Age if weigh-ins were conducted weekly, the show's executive producer Richard Campbell said: ''I don't want to comment on that.''
Channel Ten has promoted the show's fifth season as one that helps not only contestants but also viewers lose weight through weekly ''Masterclass'' episodes in which healthy eating and exercise tips are provided.
But the network has come under fire for an episode last week in which Victorian Caitlin Bottrell - who had a starting weight of 179 kilograms and was said to have lost 15 kilograms in her first week - vomited three times while training with NSW rugby union team the Waratahs.
Cheering her on, Biggest Loser trainer Michelle Bridges was filmed saying: ''I pay respect to anyone that can puke, get up and get on with it.''
Dr Massage believes it set a dangerous example. ''It's a disgrace. The aim of exercise is not to get them sick and make it painful. If you are [vomiting] your body's telling you something … I'm concerned that [viewers] may be led to believe that there is a necessity to exercise themselves to exhaustion or potentially do harm to themselves in order to succeed.''
Mr Campbell insisted no one will be forced to take part in the marathon, which he said would take place in the 11th or 12th week of the 12-week series.
The remaining competitors won't be required to take part to stay in the game but can compete if they wish. Only eliminated players will need to place well to have a shot at the finale.
Channel Ten says the show began filming in October, which means the marathon should have been in January - after 12 weeks. But a spokeswoman said the marathon had not yet been run, suggesting the ''12 week'' program may stretch longer in reality.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/this-man-wants-to-be-the-biggest-loser-20100213-nyiu.html

 

[fish eel]

HEALTH experts have warned that someone could soon die on Channel 10's weight loss program The Biggest Loser, with contestants revealing they are encouraged to dehydrate to record weight losses of almost 17 kilograms in one week.

Several former contestants told the Herald yesterday the show's trainers had suggested they stop drinking for up to 36 hours before being weighed.

Others said they were also able to achieve greater losses because they were weighed every 10 to 14 days, not every seven days as the show purports.

In this year's series, the fifth since the show started in Australia, David Dobbie recorded a loss of 16.6 kilograms in the first week. Fellow contestants Rick Medway shed 14.8 kilograms, Wayne Bettany lost 14.4 kilograms and Shannon Bourke notched up a 13.8 kilogram loss.

Obesity experts yesterday warned the rapid weight loss could be life-threatening.

Humans burn fat at a rate of about one to two kilograms a week, said Jenny O'Dea, an associate professor of health and nutrition education at the University of Sydney. Any more than that, and the body is eating its own muscle mass, water, bone density and liver glycogen: ''You are risking heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure.''

Dr O'Dea also criticised a recent episode where contestants, most still morbidly obese, were made to run 10 kilometres in the summer heat.

''Dehydration combined with heat exhaustion will kill you.''

Artie Rocke, who starred in the first series in 2006, said the trainers encouraged contestants not to drink water before a weigh-in.

''It's about ratings but you have to ask do they want someone to drop dead? Is that a ratings winner? I hope not,'' he said.

Doctors told Rocke his 40-kilogram weight loss over 12 weeks was to blame for his collapse two days after filming ended. He was rushed to hospital to have his gall bladder removed.

Fellow contestant Tracy Moores was also treated for dehydration.

Garry Guerreiro, who appeared in the 2008 series, said trainers planted ''subliminal seeds'' about the tactics he could use, such as dehydration, to record greater losses.

''The amount of weight people lose doesn't seem possible in a week - because it isn't,'' he said.

John Jeffery, known as JJ, quit the show in 2008 because he did not agree with its philosophy and feared someone would die.

''One person I was in with was taken to hospital twice with a low pulse rate because he was starving himself.

''You choose foods from a shopping list but no one checks what you eat. Some people will eat even less than the 1000 calories they put you on and then exercise eight hours a day,'' he said.

Kelly Donaghy lost 4.4 kilograms in her first week on the 2007 series but was left in tears after trainers and fellow contestants chastised her off camera for letting down the team.

''I thought that was quite a bit of weight for one week but they were all very critical of me,'' she said. ''They said it wasn't enough.''

A spokesman for Fremantle Media said it was aware the show's contestants were dehydrating themselves.

''It's a weight loss journey but it's also a game.

''We are certainly not encouraging people to do it but everyone is made aware of how the game is played,'' he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/experts-warn-diet-show-puts-lives-in-danger-20100219-olzm.html

 

[sportive cupid]

And to think that we were led to believe that there were medical professionals waiting in the wings to assist in ensuring that the contest doesn't get out of hand and always remains health focused.

 

[roopy]

If the government had to pay to get the primary health message out there that this show does for nothing, it would cost 10s of millions at least - so there are definately positives - and the new format looks good, although it's clashed with the cricket the couple of times i've been home for the friday night education programme, so i haven't seen much of it.

 

[macavity]

watched it for the first time last night and there is one bird on there that is actually fairly attractive now - she is down 20kg to 80kg or something, and is still on the show.

 

[aqua_duck]

The thing I don't like about TBL is the practices employed aren't sustainable once the person goes to the outside. Their diets are ridiculous, and 6 hours training a day is extreme

 

[cupid]

watched it for the first time last night and there is one bird on there that is actually fairly attractive now - she is down 20kg to 80kg or something, and is still on the show.

The one from the yellow team? too bad her sister is twice the size of her

 

[Misanthrope]

My girlfriend and I are big fans of the show in its US and UK formats, but the saturation of TV by the Australian version turned us right off of it after two or three nights. If we had time to sit and watch the six episodes a week, we'd be halfway to being as fat as some of the contestants.

 

[God-King Dean]

haha it's so transparent how insecure this show makes a lot of people feel.

Til someone dies or at least suffers a permanent injury, then I'll bag the show.

 

[TheParraboy]

If the government had to pay to get the primary health message out there that this show does for nothing, it would cost 10s of millions at least - so there are definately positives - and the new format looks good, although it's clashed with the cricket the couple of times i've been home for the friday night education programme, so i haven't seen much of it.

So you still ended up watching the biggest losers in the WIs

 

[TheParraboy]

I havent seen every episode, probably only watch twice a week or so (their recaps at the start of every show are enough for the shows ive missed).

But I dont seem to see those two that were advertised prior to TBL starting, that bloke running through word barriers, then greeting his partner/wife at the end with Michelle/Shannon approaching them. Whats the deal there, are they contestants that have been training away from camp Biggest loser or just decoy clayton contestants?