Weight Loss, Dieting & ObesityAnother WebTrev.Com Health Services specialist sub-site. |
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Weight Loss Reality TV Television Shows.A growing number of weight loss reality TV shows are appearing on television screens around the world. All of them demonstrate major results that can be achieved through diet and exercise, though some add extra therapies into the mix. Some critics argue that certain of these weight loss reality TV shows may encourage unhealthy practices in the name of rapid weight loss, inspired by large prizemoney. There have been suggestions of what happens off-camera, such as vomiting and purging by some contestants, for example. There is also the criticism that large scale short term weight loss will inevitably result in contestants metabolisms slowing down, leading to rapid uncontrollable weight gain in coming years. Of course, we'll never see these long term effects on our screens. A further criticism of certain such weight loss reality TV shows is that they are, in fact, far from "reality". The role models provided cannot be emulated by the viewing public. The very artificial environments of isolation, 24 hour supervision by doctors, dieticians, fitness instructors and other professionals, the many hours of vigorous exercise every day, the removal from daily responsibilities of families, jobs and so forth, just cannot be copied by the general public. Accordingly, the results contestants / participants on these weight loss reality TV shows achieve can reasonably be argued to be very artificial indeed. For all the range of criticisms, however, there is a valuable role being played by the various weight loss reality TV shows around the world. They provide the viewing public with inspiration. They discuss health, diet, cooking & meal preparation, exercise, attitude, motivation, the role of alternative therapies such as yoga or other forms of stress management, and other educational issues. The following are links to the websites of a number of recent and current reality weight loss TV shows. These sites provide updates on the shows, the characters, and also the diets and fitness tips the contestants / participants are following. USAThe Biggest Loser (NBC)The blockbuster fifth series is currently underway and airs from October 2008. This website contains all the information about the show, the previous series, the contestants, plus plenty of expert advice on diet and training. Expressions of interest for contestants for a sixth series are already being sought. Would you like to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser? Click here for details. Biggest Loser Club (NBC)This is a "spin off" website related to "The Biggest Loser" where you can get online access to the diet & fitness program used by the contestants - personalized to fit your goals and lifestyle. Weighing In (The Food Network)Join chef Juan-Carlos Cruz as he helps overweight men and women slim down for a special event in their lives. Over a 3-month period, the "losers" will get guidance, support, and advice from a team of health and fitness experts: a nutritionist to devise individual eating plans, and a trainer to help them shape up. Celebrity Fit Club - Current Series (VH1) &Celebrity Fit Club - Series 5 (VH1) Celebrity Fit Club is a one-hour weekly reality show in which eight overweight celebrities compete in two teams of four to lose weight. In each episode the celebrities attend 'Fit Camp' where they take part in a range of physical and motivational activities designed to shed the pounds, increase team spirit and rivalry, and win prizes. The show is hosted by noted comedian ANT and the contestants are aided on their weight loss journey by: The Trainer: Gunnery Sergeant Harvey Walden IV Currently in its sixth series, this weight loss reality TV show's popularity means that a seventh series in 2009 can be expected. UKYou Are What You Eat (Channel 4)You Are What You Eat - Series 3 Taking a very different approach from other weight loss reality TV shows, each 30 minute episode looks at a different family. The chosen families are of serious obese husbands, wives and usually teenage or at-home older children who have terribly unhealthy diets and sedentary lives. The no-nonsense, straight talking nutritionist Gillian McKeith analyses their lifestyle and diets, re-educates them about the dangers and health consequences of how they are living, and with a program over an eight week period (condensed into the 30 minute episode) produces tremendous changes in their shapes, their health and their attitudes towards exercise and diet. For many people, this show should not be watched while eating dinner. Gillian McKeith's obsession with colonic irrigation and examination of poo samples does not make it suitable meal time viewing. Overall, "You Are What You Eat" is a far less 'sensational' and much more educational and practical reality television show than many of it's peers, though tends to promote a very debatable near-vegetarian dietary approach. Honey, We're Killing The Kids (BBC)"Honey, We're Killing the Kids" is a series where six sets of parents get to fast-forward their children's lives and actually come face to face with them in middle age. For many of the parents it's an unsettling moment as they meet their adult offspring who've been adversely affected by their unhealthy lifestyles. The show covers more than just weight loss. It looks at the total long term health consequences of the way children are being raised today. Series Three is currently showing on BBC Three. AustraliaThe Biggest Loser - Australia (Network Ten)Based on the same successful format as the USA version, right down to importing the same US Trainers, the first series of the Australian version of The Biggest Loser was an overwhelming ratings sensation in 2006. The show has evolved in the two subsequent series with Australian trainers, Michelle Bridges and Shannon Ponton, sharing the effort with the US's Bob & Jillian. The 2008 Series Three has just concluded. It was such a ratings sensation that a fourth series in 2009 is inevitable. Celebrity Overhaul (Nine Network)Recently having finished a highly successful second series, a third series late in 2006 is promised. A group of a dozen or so Australian celebrities are put into a rigorous doctor & fitness instructor supervised camp for six weeks. The first series was set on an Australian rural landscape property. The second series was set in a Thailand beachfront health resort. Unlike 'The Biggest Loser' and 'Celebrity Fit Club', Celebrity Overhaul is not a contest. The improvements in fitness, health and weight loss for all contestants is its own reward. Overhaul (Nine Network)The promised late 2006 third series of the Nine Network's weight loss reality TV show "Celebrity Overhaul" has been replaced by 'Overhaul'. Basically, it is the same show, only with eight overweight ordinary Australians instead of celebrities. (Maybe after the first two series, there became a shortage of overweight unemployed 'celebrities' in Australia.) It appears that the Nine Network have ceased pproduction of any further series, though the website from the last series is still available. Honey, We're Killing The Kids (Network Ten)An Australian version of the UK BBC series was aired from early to mid 2006. We are presently unaware if a second Australian series is planned for 2007 or beyond. (No website available as yet.) CanadaTaking It Off - Season 4 (Life Network & Discovery Health Network)Taking It Off - Season 3 (A special "thank you" to Alyson, a contestant from Series 4, for bringing the "Taking It Off" website & TV show to our attention.) In an interesting twist for a weight loss reality TV series, no-one gets voted off and each contestant choses their own program to lose weight. The contestants are not "live in" and therefore the show depicts real people in real life situations with practical weight loss pursuits that viewers will find inspiring and educational. Series Four has now ended and we have heard no word yet as to when or whether a fifth series can be expected. X-Weighted (Sliced)The 2008 series of X-Weighted is currently underway. X-Weighted is a series of one-hour documentaries about adult Canadians each fighting their individual war on fat. The bulge-busters hail from across Canada (Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver.) Carrying from 40 to 150 extra pounds each, they run, climb, pump, bike and dance their way to healthier weights, during periods of four to six months. X-Weighted records all the plans and pitfalls, gripes and grit that go hand-in-hand with achieving this often-exasperating goal. The emphasis is on the underlying causes and ongoing triggers for excess weight as these frank but feisty people grapple with their personal flaws, emotional baggage and suppressed conflicts. Full episodes are available for viewing online. The current series is now almost finished. A casting call is open for people wishing to participate in the next series of this weight loss reality TV show. If you wish to be a contestant, click here for application details. The Last Ten Pounds Bootcamp (Sliced) The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp propels women through an intense fitness and nutrition regimen that dramatically resizes them in record time. Motivated by a special event (an upcoming wedding, anniversary, vacation, or reunion) participants strive to transform themselves physically and mentally in just four weeks. Their mission: to lose weight. Their target: to fit into a sexy new outfit. Tommy Europe, former football star turned celebrity trainer, is the country's most sought-after personal trainer whose modus operandi is a military-style IN-YOUR-FACE approach. A thrilling combination of scary and sexy, he is the Drill Instructor everyone will love to hate - he's every participants' best friend and worst enemy. Tommy's sidekick is hard-bodied Nadeen Boman, the take-no-prisoners Nutrition Coach. Nadeen ransacks the fridge and cupboards, trashes the sugar and fat, and completely overhauls the participant's nutrition and lifestyle in a hard-hitting high impact fashion. Full episodes are available for viewing online. The current series is now almost finished. A casting call is open for people wishing to participate in the next series. If you wish to be a contestant, click here for application details. OtherDo you know of any other Weight Loss Reality TV programmes, anywhere in the world, that have accompanying websites? Or, is any of the information on this page outdated and in need of updating? Please let us know. |
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