US producers defend Biggest Loser against banned drugs claim

Producers of The Biggest Loser (USA) have defended the show amid criticism of its practices.

A former contestant told the New York Post she was forced to use weight-loss drugs in order to shed weight. Joelle Gwynn took aim at trainer Bob Harper.

“He goes away and his assistant comes in. He’s got this brown paper bag that’s bundled up. He says, ‘Take this drug, it’ll really help you.’ It was yellow and black. I was like, ‘What the f*** is this?’”

She said the show’s doctor gave “some lame explanation” of the drugs adding, “it was up to us to take them.”

Another contestant said they would utilise “amphetamines, water pills, diuretics, and throw up in the bathroom,” and claimed that Harper in particular told people to vomit to lose weight. “I vomited every single day,” she said.

But producers rejected the claims.

“The safety and well-being of our contestants is, and has always been, paramount,” they said in a statement.

“Contestants are told at the start of the show that there is zero tolerance for any weight loss drugs. We prohibit the use of any illegal substances, in addition to the many other rules and procedures of the show that are designed to ensure safety.”

Several former contestants also defended the show on social media.

The New York Times recently published findings from a government-backed study performed by a division of the National Institutes of Health. The study tracked 14 former contestants and found that all but one of them regained all of the weight they lost on the show within six years after appearing on the program.

Meanwhile the 17th season of the NBC show averaged roughly 3.5 million nightly US viewers – a steep drop for a show that never averaged fewer than eight million nightly viewers in any of its first 11 seasons.

Source: Variety, Forbes