Life After NBC’s “The Biggest Loser”: The Experiences and Perspectives of Former Reality TV Contestants

NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is a competition-based weight loss reality television show, where individuals (and sometimes couples) are filmed while undergoing significant weight loss transformations. It is a reality television show in which overweight and obese participants are physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged in a contest to lose the most weight. Top health experts and celebrity fitness trainers work with participants on the show to create diet and exercise programs to give their bodies a drastic makeover (Readdy & Ebbeck, 2012). Contestants are often divided into two teams; the losing team, after a team weigh-in, eliminates a player each week. At the end of the show, one final contestant wins a large sum of money- $250,000 to be exact-after surviving eliminations as well as successfully completing the nutritional and physical challenges that result in losing the most weight (Domoff, Hinman, Koball, Storfer-Isser, Carhart, Baik, & Carels, 2012). In addition, another cash prize is often awarded to the person who loses the most weight after being sent home from the ranch.According to Yoo (2013), 30 million people tune in during the television season to view overweight, obese, and morbidly obese individuals attempt to lose weight and compete for a cash prize. "The Biggest Loser" has been immensely popular to the extent that the show, originally produced in the United States, is now produced and aired in a number of other countries, (Hall, 2013), including as far east as Australia (Thomas, Hyde, & Komesaroff, 2007).While the show has been successful in terms of inducing significant weight loss among its participants (as many members lose upwards of 150 pounds while on the show) it has been highly scrutinized and viewed in a negative way by some scholars and individuals in the media (Yoo, 2013). Specifically, some have alleged that the show portrays unrealistic results of weight loss; perpetuates anti-fat bias, obesity stereotypes, and weight-based stigmatization; and does not prepare participants adequately for the required lifestyle changes needed to sustain weight loss after the show (Berry, McLeod, Pankratow, & Walker, 2013; Domoff et al., 2012; Hall, 2013). For example, contestants are often filmed working out daily for multiple hours, which results in substantial weight loss. While the show portrays significant weight loss, the mechanisms used are unrealistic as most non-contestants cannot lose as much weight in such a condensed period of time and individuals are not able to maintain weight loss after the show. Another example of negative traits that some have described would be in the presentation of challenges where contestants are purposely tempted with food products. When participants are filmed giving in to temptation, it perpetuates a stereotype suggesting that obese individuals are addicts and possess an inability to regulate their food intake. While some individuals may struggle with food intake, it is commonly known that obesity can be caused by a variety of factors, some of which are external to the individual.Likewise, in the media, a number of former contestants have spoken out about their negative experiences with the show, specifically related to a lack of social support offered by the show's trainers while at the ranch and after the show, as well as the pressure to adhere to inappropriate dieting practices, among other factors (Callahan, 2015). However, outside of the media, there has not been any research conducted and then published to explore the weight loss process of participants who utilize such a unique intervention to induce significant weight loss. In addition, researchers have not explored the process of weight loss from a clinical perspective, specifically as it relates to mental health, emotional well-being, and couple and family relational dynamics after weight loss intervention. Marriage and Family Therapists who increasingly work with obese populations regarding behavior modification as well as when transitioning through the weight loss surgery process (Moore & Cooper, 2016; Pratt, Holowacz, & Walton, 2014) may be uniquely equipped to work with contestants from NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and other weight-loss reality television shows. …