Fitness Television - More Harm Than Good?

This woman scares me, as do her methods.....

This morning a friend, Dr. Jason Ross, DC, ART, CSCS, shared a link to an article examining some of the physiological and psychological ramifications related to the popular fitness (I use this term loosely here) based show The Biggest Loser. The piece is an interesting one, which I feel does a good job of shedding light on some of the reasons why many fitness professionals take issue with the program.  It actually reminds me a bit of another writing (of a very similar title) that I read a few years back (I’ll include links to both below), written in a different voice, but poignant all the same.

I haven’t watched an episode of The Biggest Loser in years.  This is primarily because I feel the show fails to provide a complete picture to the viewer of what actually goes into achieving the extensive levels of weight loss seen on the program. While I’m sure that I could list a number of other factors pertaining to The Biggest Loser that I disagree with (the lack of credibility behind some of the shows “experts” for one), in the end it is the misrepresentation of reality that bothers me most.  The general public has a difficult enough time distinguishing fitness fact from fallacy as it is, minus the help of television programming such as The Biggest Loser.  

Stepping down from my soapbox, the reason for this post was to share the two above mentioned articles with those of you who read my ramblings.  So without further ado, here they are.  If for nothing else, I hope that they promote intelligent thought about what shows like The Biggest Loser are actually teaching our nation about health and fitness.

One final note, Dr. Ross (who exposed to the first article listed below) runs an outstanding practice in the greater Grand Rapids area (Train Out Pain Chiropractic).  If you are an athlete seeking a qualified practitioner who can provide, among other things, targeted soft tissue work designed to keep you healthy and performing at your best, I highly recommend Train Out Pain.  

ARTICLE 1 - The Real Biggest Losers?  The Show's Audience - Yoni Freedhoff M.D.

ARTICLE 2 - The Real Biggest Losers..... The Viewers - Robert dos Remideos, M.A.