According to a new study, NBC's highly popular show "The Biggest Loser" tends to foster negative attitudes about obesity in its viewers.
The study was conducted by Jina H. Yoo, associate professor of communication at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who found that the show gives out an anti-fat message by telling viewers that people can control their weight by the willpower of the participants.
"The show frames obesity as a matter of personal responsibility and behavioral solutions, ignoring societal or environmental contributors," Yoo said.
Not many people who have lost weight on the show have controlled their weights, according to this source. Moreover, the show, which gets its rating from viewers hooked on to see people losing weight by exercising, actually fuels negative attitude about workouts.
Another problem with the show, according to researchers, is that the contestants lose some 10 pounds a week, which can lead to many health problems in the future.
Yoo's study was based on a sample size of 700 undergraduate students, of whom 202 were males and 482 were females. Ethnicity-wise, he sample was 60 percent Caucasian, 28 percent African-American, 6 percent Asian American, 3 percent Hispanic and 2 percent other.
Yoo found that not only was The Biggest Loser ineffective when it comes to weight loss, but also that it sends a negative perception of obesity.
The study is published in the journal Health Communication.
According to estimates by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of all people living in the U.S. are obese.