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But don’t worry, The Biggest Loser producers have the kids’ best interest at heart. The kids aren’t really competing. They’re just going to be “mentored.” It sounds like they’re just going to endure the dangerous aspects of the show without weigh-ins or any hope of winning money from it. I guess having the kids compete for money would send the wrong message. You wouldn’t want the kids to think that life is a competition where winning money is the important thing. They should definitely get the message that being thin is the only important thing. Way to go, NBC. Nice work.

Why The Biggest Loser Should Be Stopped
I could probably write a treatise on why The Biggest Loser should be taken off the air. But I’ll share my top 3 reasons why right here.

1. The Biggest Loser Is Physically And Emotionally Dangerous For the Contestants. Just from watching The Biggest Loser you can glean some things about the way the contestants are treated. (In this one clip alone from Australia Biggest Loser, you can see the emotional and physical duress the contestants are under, and the fact that cannot even open a door to get fresh air.) About two and half years ago, I interviewed Season 3 finalist Kai Hibbard about her experiences on the “ranch.” She talked about how contestants were encouraged and, I would say, brainwashed, into intense dehydration, overexercising (sometimes while injured), and eating disordered behavior.
2. The Biggest Loser Reinforces The Idea That Thinness, At Any Cost, Is Healthy. Diets don’t work, and that includes extreme diets. You won’t hear about it in the media, because facts don’t sell diets and weight loss drugs. And you also won’t hear about Biggest Loser contestants who gain the weight back, not because it doesn’t happen, but because they sign a huge contract without the benefit of counsel when they sign up for the show, and that contract includes a gag order with million dollar penalties. Even so, a few contestants have admitted to gaining all of the weight back, including Erik Chopin and Ryan C. Benson.
3. The Biggest Loser Bolsters Fat Hatred And Stigma. More and more evidence is suggesting that the real danger of obesity has nothing to do with fat, and everything to do with the stigma of being fat. For 14 seasons in the US (and multiple seasons in over 20 countries around the world) The Biggest Loser has been reinforcing the stereotype that fat people are lazy and unhealthy and deserve to be berated, forced to exercise in pain and with injuries, and malnourished all for the sake of weight loss and entertainment. Millions of people watch this show every week and internalize this message. The show, in essence, makes “bullying for health” a viable and particularly dangerous concept, especially given the fact that fat kids are the most likely to get bullied.

Why Biggest Loser Is Particularly Terrible For Young People

Despite what you’ve heard about the epic dangers of the childhood obesity epidemic, there is no epidemic (obesity rates have leveled out over the last 10 years). There is no evidence to the claim that children will no longer outlive their parents. In fact, life expectancy continues to increase.