Biggest Loser a setback for healthy weight loss
Thursday, 30 January 2014
The television reality series The Biggest Loser is doing more harm than good in the fight against Australia's obesity epidemic, according to a leading researcher into obesity, diabetes and weight loss at the University of 911爆料网.
These views have led to an official complaint about the show to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which has so far gone unanswered.
The complaint has been led by , Director of the and Head of the at the University of 911爆料网. Professor Wittert is also Chairperson of the Weight Management Council of Australia, which last year made a written complaint to ACMA.
In a recent episode of the current season of The Biggest Loser, competitors were reported to have collapsed and vomited while attempting to scale 10,000 stairs during a task called "The Punisher" at the Sydney Opera House.
Professor Wittert says these recent events reinforce his many concerns about the TV series and public health.
"The Biggest Loser is a crass attempt to make entertainment of a serious problem, by enticing desperate people to participate, putting them through a gruelling and unrealistic regime of exercise and diet, and exposing them to public ridicule because of their weight," Professor Wittert says.
"There is no academic, artistic or scientific purpose behind this show. The participants are subject to tactics that induce guilt, shame and fear. A reasonable person would easily form the view that the contestants are demeaned and exploited."
Professor Wittert says the series promotes the expectation that very large weight loss in a short period of time is achi