The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels expressed her strong disagreement to a recent study that says the show changes the metabolism of contestants.
In an interview with People Magazine, Michaels cannot help but utter words of disgust as she talks about the results of the study. For her, eating right and exercising will never ever interfere with diet.
The Controversial Study
The study that Michaels has reacted to was performed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that 13 out of 14 The Biggest Loser contestants slowed their metabolism six years after participating in the show.
In the said research, all but one participant regained weight. In fact, four weighed heavier than when they first entered the contest.
"Metabolic adaptation persists over time and is likely a proportional, but incomplete, response to contemporaneous efforts to reduce body weight," the authors said.
The authors concluded that there is really a great challenge in attaining and sustaining weight loss in the long term.
The Biggest Loser Contestants Come Out
After the release of the study, several The Biggest Loser contestants came out to negate some of the research findings. They said the study failed to reveal that that the show made them do practices that may be hazardous to health.
Some of the contestants have revealed that the show encouraged them to take street pills while they were starving. While this was happening, they were told to lie about the true weight that they were shedding.
They also said that they were sent out to Dr. Rob Huizenga or "Dr. H," for questionable medical tests. Huizenga was one of the collaborators in the NIH study.
For example, contestant Suzanne Mendonca from the show's season two said that during the final weigh-in, people were fainting in Dr. H's office. In the end, five people had to be brought to the hospital immediately. She adds that the doctor knew exactly what the contestants were up to, but he did not stop it.
All in all, many show participants came out of the show with medical conditions that they did not have prior to entering the contest.
Huizenga responded to this statement and said that the contestants rarely pass out or arrive at a point of dizziness. He adds that he educate contestants that correct caloric intake is important in fat loss over short and long term periods.
