America is obese. We see it all the time in the news. Statistically speaking, America is a country full of fatties. Always ready to exploit anything of interest, reality tv has created numerous shows about weight loss. But these shows are less about being useful, and more about entertainment. After all, its television. Now, these shows range in popularity and theme, from "Celebrity Fit Club" to the hugely- no pun intended- "Biggest Loser", and beyond.
But what do these shows really do for their viewers? They provide some useful information, but mostly its about angsting along with the people participating; getting involved in their personal journey and transformation. Mostly, these shows provide what I like to call
Vicarious weight loss!
Think about it. You're emotionally involved. As a viewer, you invest hours of your time watching these people sweat it out, suffer, complain about healthy eating, and invariably talk about the personal struggles in their life that caused them to become fatties. You root for them
, you cheer on their transformations...all the while with your ass on the couch, or lying in bed. Maybe you're snacking on your favorite food. You get a feeling of being plugged into a healthy living mentality, but you aren't actually participating. You get to have that feeling of accomplishment and progress, without doing any of the unpleasant work yourself! Genius...except that when you turn off the tv, you still haven't actually lost a pound.
, you cheer on their transformations...all the while with your ass on the couch, or lying in bed. Maybe you're snacking on your favorite food. You get a feeling of being plugged into a healthy living mentality, but you aren't actually participating. You get to have that feeling of accomplishment and progress, without doing any of the unpleasant work yourself! Genius...except that when you turn off the tv, you still haven't actually lost a pound.But these shows aren't entirely useless. It is possible that you can use them for motivation. If you're overweight, you can look at those people and see that losing weight is possible for anyone. (Ignore the fact that they have the luxury of personal trainers, dietitions, and numerous other crazy shennanigans that hollywood can throw together working in their favor.) If you're already fit, you can say "wow. Those people are really unhappy with themselves, and having to work really hard to get back to a healthy weight. I better be sure to stay fit.
So should you stop watchign these shows? No, not necissarily. But while you watch, consider doing some situps.
(somene should tell that trainer that walruses actually need their blubber.)
