The Biggest Loser

Weight loss is big business in America. Celebrity trainers, revolutionary diets and amazing success stories permeate the national conscious. The Biggest Loser combines these factors with the country's love of reality television to create a successful multi-season chronicle of morbidly obese men and women reclaiming their bodies.

Contestants on the show start off by documenting their struggles with their weight. Most are struggling with emotional or family problems and never learned proper nutrition or exercise. The Biggest Loser offers a chance for contestants to change their lives and learn how to live healthy. While teaching the contestants, the show is also able to teach viewers by tying educational information to the compelling narratives of the players on the show.

Celebrity trainers like Jillian Michaels help motivate participants as they learn how to do cardiovascular and weight-lifting training to create a healthier body. Show contestants are shown sweating in the gym and learning how to eat healthy in the kitchen. The competitors also participate in runs and even marathons.

At the beginning of each season, contestants are split into two teams. The teams train together and weigh-in together at the end of each show. The team that has lost the smallest percentage of weight loses a team member. Towards the end of the season, teams are dissolved and the players compete against each other to lose weight. The last player remaining earns the title "The Biggest Loser" and a substantial cash prize, ranging from one hundred thousand to a quarter of a million dollars.

The contestants are monitored by doctors and weight loss professionals. Because of the substantial amount of weight lost, emulating the contestants would not be safe for viewers. However, The Biggest Loser does show America healthy eating and exercising habits to practice at home.