By Maria Leone

Recently, my mother made me watch “The Biggest Loser” with her. I had never seen this show before and I was immediately in awe—in awe of how hard the trainers pushed the contestants and how mean they could be. I know that the contestants are monitored to some extent to prevent heart attacks, and other medical emergencies,  yet even with these precautions, a New York Times article published late last year revealed that the contestants are often dehydrated and are not losing weight in a healthy fashion. The trainers push the contestants far past what I would consider a safe exertion zone for exercise. The whole thing made me wonder: What about the contestants’ joints, in particular the knees and back? How do those trainers have any idea when a disc is about to blow or a meniscus is about to give out? 

I also wondered how the weight results would change if they didn’t push the envelope so hard on the physical exertion. For years, weight loss has been the big sell for the fitness industry. The harder and longer you work out the more you lose, right?