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* A butter sculpture of a sow and her piglets

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Shamed for getting thin:









“Biggest Loser’s” weight-loss firestorm

How much is "too much" to win a reality show?

 
Shamed for getting thin:  
Rachel Frederickson (Credit: AP/Trae Patton)



How do you win at “The Biggest Loser”? By losing the most weight, of course. Unless you lose too much, in which case you’re also a loser.

Such is the fate of Rachel Frederickson, who triumphed on Tuesday night’s finale of the competitive weight loss show  after shedding  a dramatic 155 pounds from her starting weight of 260 pounds, nearly 60 percent of her original weight. 

It’s the highest percentage of weight lost by any contest in the show’s history.  And even the show’s trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels couldn’t contain their shock when she emerged, transformed and slender.

And from the moment Frederickson appeared in her slinky, silver dress the controversy and concern trolling began.

 “‘Biggest Loser’: Uproar as winner appears ‘too thin’ at 105 pounds” blared the LA Times.

 Zap2It, “Why was Rachel Frederickson allowed to lose too much weight?” 

... Twitter erupted into fretting over the “sickly,” “eating disorder” new version of the former competitive swimmer.

Frederickson described herself as now in maintenance mode...

There is no denying that dangling a quarter of a million dollars in front of overweight people as an incentive to get as thin as possible as quickly as possible is not the most practical or sensible plan ever invented for long-term health.

Nor is it the kind of thing most people can apply to their own experience. 

But a show about quietly making small changes over a lengthy period of time and preaching that changing your body takes hard work and discipline,  wouldn’t sell.

There are serious ethical questions to be asked regarding whether the rigors of the competition are putting the players in physical danger and whether the narrative is sending an unrealistic message to viewers. 


 



Read More @ Link:  http://www.salon.com/2014/02/06/shamed_for_getting_thin_biggest_losers_weight_loss_firestorm/



Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of 
"Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." 

Follow her on Twitter: @embeedub.




Rachel Frederickson wanted to Win Biggest Loser: But at what cost to her health?


 










 
 


 


 Loser Frederickson.jpg

 This image released by NBC shows contestant Rachel Frederickson from "The Biggest Loser." Fredrickson lost nearly 60 percent of her body weight to win the latest season of “The Biggest Loser” and pocket $250,000. A day after her grand unveiling on NBC, she faced a firestorm of criticism in social media from people who said she went too far. (AP Photo/NBC, Trae Patton)
This image released by NBC shows contestant Rachel Frederickson from "The Biggest Loser." Fredrickson lost nearly 60 percent of her body weight to win the latest season of “The Biggest Loser” and pocket $250,000. A day after her grand unveiling on NBC, she faced a firestorm of criticism in social media from people who said she went too far. (AP Photo/NBC, Trae Patton)

Flabbergasted by155-pound weight loss:

Bob Harper admits he was flabbergasted by “The Biggest Loser” contestant Rachel Frederickson’s 155-pound weight loss. The trainer told Rachel Ray during a taping for an episode airing February 13 that he was astonished by the dramatic finale, reports US magazine.

“I was stunned,” he confessed. “That would be the word. I mean, we’ve never had a contestant at 105 pounds.” When the cook and talk show host asked him about fans criticism that the season 15 winner was emaciated he responded, s, when the contestants leave to go home…they’re in charge of themselves. I had not seen her until that night, and so when she walked out, I was just kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ And I’ve been on the show since the beginning, forever.”


However Dolvett Quince, her trainer on the show defended Frederickson’s dramatic weight loss on Facebook.

"Biggest Loser is a journey which has its ups and downs," he wrote. 

"Please try not to look at one slice of Rachel's journey and come to broad conclusions. 

Rachel's health is and always has been my main concern and her journey to good health has not yet ended!!"






Rachel Frederickson wins The Biggest Loser