In the top ranks of the most watched shows on Netflix now is a documentary describing 18 seasons of exploitation on The Biggest Loser. For the folks who ran the original show, it generated hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in revenue. For the folks who opened themselves up to exploitation on the show, it generated a lot of pain, humiliation, and at least one near-death experience.

While it was a wildly popular reality TV show, we could never bear to watch it. It tapped into a deep vein of cruelty and schadenfreude. That made it too offensive for our eyes. But many people whom we respect urged us to watch the documentary and so we did.

Fit for TV presents the now defunct show’s cruelty in two hours of vivid detail, split into three episodes.

“Heartbreaking”

Aubrey Gordon, a fat acceptance activist and successful author, brought a voice of sanity to the documentary. She spoke with clarity on the obvious problem with weight bias. She patiently explained how, even today, weight bias means that larger people encounter harsh judgments at just a glance, everywhere they turn. Bias allowed The Biggest Loser to get away with rituals of humiliation that are unconscionable. Trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper routinely berated and belittled people on the show. Gordon says it simply:

“The goal was to make a good television show. The more of a spectacle, the better”

The producers rationalized it. They convinced themselves that they were helping people they regarded as pathetic wretches. But those rationalizations did not fly with obesity medicine physician Fatima Cody Stanford, who told us:

“This documentary is deeply heartbreaking to watch. While it evokes strong emotions, it offers very little in the way of scientific facts or meaningful insights about the complex biology of weight gain and weight regulation. For the millions of viewers, it misses an important opportunity to educate and inform.

“I have tremendous empathy for the individuals who participated in the show. Despite being subjected to harmful treatment, many still internalize the belief that their struggles are entirely their own fault. This is simply not true.

“Their willingness to accept blame highlights the profound impact of self-stigma, which continues to cause significant harm to countless people living with obesity.”

Progress?

Obesity Action Coalition CEO Joe Nadglowski took solace in the fact that these rituals of humiliation will no longer fly. He told us:

“It is interesting to watch and see signs of how much progress we’ve made since the show debuted 20 years ago. At the same time, it feels in some respects like we’ve made no progress at all.

“Some of the same ideas stoked by bias are still very much in play today.”

Thank goodness that noxious show (The Biggest Loser) is no longer on the air.

Click here, here, and here for more on Fit for TV, the new documentary from Netflix.

Fit for TV, publicity photo courtesy of Netflix