Fit for TV: Debunking an unfit reality

Award-winning documentary director Skye Borgman is back with another explosive docu-series, ‘Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser’. The opening shots show a 30-year-old Suzanne Mendonca, weighing 229 pounds (104 kg), brimming with enthusiasm as she prepares to compete in ‘America’s Biggest Loser’. The contestant who sheds the most weight gets a prize money of $2,50,000. For 12 years, the original series ran on NBC, clocking in 17 seasons.

Curtains came down in 2016 after a backlash over its extreme weight- loss practices and lack of safety protocols. Fitness trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels faced accusations of “mistreating” the contestants.

The three-part documentary brings to us the controversial reality show, which saw phenomenal success, with finale viewership numbers going beyond 10 million. Interviews include those of executive producers David Broome and JD Roth, trainer Bob Harper, contestants Danny Cahill (winner), Tracey Yukich, Joelle Gwynn, Suzanne Mendonca, Ryan C Benson (winner), medical advisers Dr Rob Huizenga and Dr Jennifer Kerns, host Alison Sweeney, author Aubrey Gordon and physician Dr Dhruv Khullar.

Trainer Jillian Michaels, accused of pushing ‘Stacker’ supplements for a caffeinated edge in the workouts, declined to feature in the documentary.

Contestants lay bare the physical and emotional changes that came with the show and after. Joelle recalls the abuse she faced from the trainers, besides lack of support for the hip and back injuries she endured during the show. Tracey, who “almost died” in the first episode of Season 8, recounts the hatred she received once she was voted out. Suzanne admits she was discouraged from losing weight before the filming: “The show wasn’t teaching us to get healthy… it was selling. How do we appeal to millions of people?”

The series digs into old clips of contestants collapsing mid-workout as they aim for a dramatic weight-loss transformation. “The goal is to make a television show, and the more spectacle, the better,” observes author Aubrey Gordon.

Though it was marketed as inspirational, “the show was actually reinforcing the stereotypes”, says Dr Kerns, a contestant and later medical adviser, as she speaks up against body shaming.

Season 1 winner Ryan C Benson confesses that in the 10 days before the finale, he didn’t put any food in his body. “I was so dehydrated that when they took my urine sample, there was blood in it.”

World champion of weight loss, Danny Cahill, who went down from 430 pounds to 239 pounds in six months, three weeks and five days, shares how within seven years of winning, his weight was back to 340 pounds. “I thought I had it all figured out, and then I didn’t have it all figured out,” he says.

Archival reports from The New York Times cite a diet study that reported 14 out of 16 contestants regaining their original weight, while leaving some with a permanently damaged metabolism. The documentary even references trainer Bob Harper’s heart attack, questioning the idea of “fitness”.

The frustration of participants echoes through Suzanne’s words: “Why didn’t anybody forewarn me? Why didn’t anybody tell me I could ruin my life?”