|
There’s a new Netflix documentary called Fit for TV: The Reality Behind The Biggest Loser. Of course, I had to watch it straight away! Calling out the harms of the infamously mean show The Biggest Loser? Count me in. Unfortunately, the documentary series didn’t quite go far enough. Yes, they named a lot of the harm, but they never once mentioned eating disorders, and they still had an overall weight loss message. So let’s talk about what they left out…  Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81670924 The documentary certainly laid out the extreme measures used on The Biggest Loser for sensationalism. It’s worth noting that if you haven’t seen it, there are many clips of abusive behaviour and specific mentions of weight and numbers that could potentially be triggering. But it’s not like we didn’t know The Biggest Loser was harmful back then. I still watched it knowing how awful Bob and Gillian were and how exploitative it all was. It was similar to how I felt watching Jerry Springer, a guilty voyeuristic pleasure that left me feeling pretty dirty afterwards. What I found disappointing is that in three whole episodes of the documentary, they didn’t discuss eating disorders or any of the research/literature on the wider harms of weight stigma in society. I was pleased to see Aubrey Gordon, and felt she probably had a lot more to say on this, but was likely edited out. The documentary ended on a fear statistic about “obesity” leaving it on a somewhat hypocritical edge. The show highlighted fatphobia and weight discrimination, yet at the same time still seemed to have a weight loss message. It could have been more helpful in highlighting the issues associated with BMI, intentional weight loss, disordered eating, and offered more psychological support and a body acceptance approach. But I guess that wouldn’t have made for “good TV”. Intentional weight loss doesn’t work in the long term Many contestants from The Biggest Loser regained weight in the long run, and many spoke openly about the long-term impact on both their bodies (including a negative impact on metabolism) and their mental health. This reinforces what we already know: intentional weight loss is rarely effective in the long term. No amount of shouting in people’s faces on TV is going to change this. Dieting (or other kinds of weight loss attempts) usually only puts people into a difficult emotional cycle of shame and guilt. Shame, punishment and humiliation are never effective in bringing about healing. They just keep people in patterns of self-hatred. The show was never about actually helping people; it was a spectacle. And the documentary is a spectacle about a spectacle. Bob Harper and the producers seem to take very little accountability for the harm the show caused. The Biggest Loser contributed to an already fatphobic society, not only encouraging and glorifying abusive behaviours towards people in larger bodies, but making fat* people themselves desperately want to go on the show. (*fat – using the term as a neutral descriptor) Overlooking eating disorders Contestants talked about behaviour that would perhaps fall within “disordered eating” or may even meet criteria for an eating disorder. Some contestants described secrecy around food, binge eating, and cycles of guilt and shame. One contestant described stopping eating in the days before the final weigh-in (he was then praised by Gillian for making her a millionaire). Yet none of this was addressed, in the show at the time, or in the documentary. It didn’t seem like anyone was offered any psychological support on The Biggest Loser, let alone screened for eating disorders. It was perhaps alluded to with the woman “who went too far” which is a horrible judgment, given she did exactly what they wanted. It’s a harmful hypocrisy of our society to promote diet culture and the thin ideal, but then blame people for developing an eating disorder. People in larger bodies are too often overlooked for eating disorders due to stereotypes and assumptions. The societal view tends to be eating disorders = thin girls with anorexia, whereas realistically, most people with eating disorders are not thin. Only approximately 6 percent of people with an eating disorder are classified as underweight. It wouldn’t surprise me if some contestants from The Biggest Loser had restrictive eating. This can be a tough one for people to understand, again due to assumptions about the way larger people eat. Many fat people will have been on many restrictive diets and tried every weight loss invention going. Atypical anorexia Sometimes, this restrictive eating can fall under the category of “atypical anorexia.” This is where the behaviours, thoughts, and emotions mirror those of anorexia nervosa (often involving food restriction and preoccupation with weight) but they’re not classified as “underweight” according to the BMI chart (Body Mass Index). So the “atypical” part is just about weight, the disordered eating and psychological distress of anorexia is still there. As many people who struggle with food restriction are not underweight, it’s hardly “atypical” really and is likely a lot more prevalent than it seems in society. Just a note on the BMI chart; it’s outdated and flawed. It was made in the 1800s by a mathematician, not to measure individual health but for population statistics, and was only based on white European men. Yet it’s still used widely by medical professionals, and often by eating disorder services. Those with atypical anorexia can still suffer from malnutrition, physical health complications, and significant distress. Restrictive eating can also be a catalyst for binge eating, and also in some cases purging (for example vomiting or other compensatory behaviours). Binge eating disorder Anyone of any size can struggle with binge eating. It can include eating in secret, eating at night, restricting for periods and then bingeing, comfort eating, emotional eating and more. A binge cycle (or a diet cycle) is a pattern of behaviour, thoughts and feelings which keep people trapped in disordered eating cycles. It often involves periods of restriction, followed by binges, followed by difficult emotions such as guilt and shame. I’ve written a full blog about this here. Sadly, binge eating is often missed by individuals and medical professionals, and often people are recommended another diet/weight loss intervention instead. This is harmful as it only serves to keep people in the cycle of disordered eating. People may also be recommended weight loss injections and bariatric surgery, which again is not helpful for binge eating or disordered eating as this will only lead to more problems in the long run. In the Fit for TV documentary, one of the contestants mentions how weight loss injections work “better than anything else” and “stop the food noise.” It’s important to note that whilst this may be her experience, often it will just mask the food noise, and it will return in the long run (as will the weight as soon as the injections are stopped). You can read more about food noise and weight loss jabs here. There is currently no research to show that weight loss injections treat binge eating. We currently don’t have any evidence to show that they are safe for any kind of disordered eating but from my experience, I feel they could be very risky and dangerous. Acceptance and compassion, not shame and punishment As an eating disorder therapist, I see many people struggling with shame and feelings of not being “good enough.” Experiencing stigma, biases and discrimination in the world, whether that’s to do with weight and/or another aspect of identity, can be traumatic. Weight stigma is arguably a form of discrimination and is harmful. Societal acceptance of body diversity is necessary to help future generations build better relationships with food and their bodies.
For individuals, care and support are needed. Not tough love, fear-mongering, or pressure. I hope the contestants on The Biggest Loser had psychological support, as they went through such horrible abuse. It’s heart-breaking how many people desperately wanted to go on the show, perhaps feeling they needed or deserved that treatment from Bob and Gillian. But they deserved so much better. They may have benefited from body image and disordered therapy, not with the aim of weight loss but to help improve their relationship with food, and build self-worth and self-acceptance. I’m passionate about helping people feel better about themselves in this way. If you’re interested in having counselling, I offer a free 15-minute intro call to have an initial chat. Get in touch if you’d like to book. Resources
Full resources list here.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |