Chasing the Magic Number on the Scale
03/29/09
If you’re wondering why the bathroom scale in this picture is showing a reading of 20.1, it’s actually a device that displays the user’s body mass index as well as weight. So you get two depressing data points instead of one.
An Anchorage Daily News article and video describe the ongoing struggle of a “Biggest Loser” contestant to keep from gaining weight.
Excerpt:
The show's executive producer, Mark Koops, said "The Biggest Loser" was not meant to be a panacea for weight loss. It was meant to push people to confront bad behaviors and learn how to change. Contestants volunteer for the show because they want results. And if they work hard, they get them.
"They don't come on 'The Biggest Loser' because they are 350 pounds and happy," he said.
Contestants leave knowing how to eat better and to exercise. For some that's enough to change their lives. Many also confront emotional issues that lead them to overeat, even if counselling isn't part of the show's plan, he said. About half keep the weight off, he said.
Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, sees it differently. Compulsive overeating is a disease, she said, with deep psychological roots. The show makes a spectacle of people's pain.
"Can you imagine doing that with cancer -- whose tumor is going to disappear faster?" she said. "My chemo versus your chemo?"