I recently read this news item about the Biggest Loser which is an interview with a previous contestant Andrew (Cosi) Costello. I have to admit, whilst I have little faith in reality shows being little more than entertainment, when I read the truth about the shows I'm even more shocked than I thought I would be.
In the interview Andrew states where he lost 9 kg in one 'week', the week was actually 25 days. The shortest 'week' was 16 days. Those huge numbers that people believe the Biggest Loser contestants are achieving each week from this article have no connection to reality. It is simply misleading to the viewing public and shows like the Biggest Loser should be ashamed. People wonder why they can't achieve the same result and the reason is simple. The contestants aren't achieving the results either.
Using the approach I share in Weight Loss Maths I once took the weight loss of one of the Biggest Loser contestants and thought, the rigorous training contestants are put through must be achieving much more than I expect. But the reality is, it isn't.
Based on information from Wikipedia, Cosi lost 9.5 kg in the first week. He started at 140.8 kg. Let's do the maths. We first gather some information about Cosi.
Age: 28
Starting BMI: 41.1
Starting Weight: 140.8 kg
Height: 185 cm
The amount of energy Cosi would need to consume to maintain his starting weight using the BMI/BMR calculator was 13,757 kJ with a normal level of activity.
Now for the next step I can only make an assumption. I've read but can't confirm contestants are put on a very low calorie diet. Let's assume this is 1,200 calories per day or 4,944 kJ. (I really felt it may be as low as 1,000 calories per day, but 1,200 appears to be a recommended minimum, so I used that as the basis for the calculation.)
That means Cosi is reducing his energy intake by 8,813 kJ per day (13,757 - 4,944).
Over a period of 25 days this is 220,325 kJ.
There is approximately 33,000 kJ in one kg of fat. If we divide 220,325 by 33,000 this gives us 6.68 kg.
That means 70% of Cosi's lost weight is from dieting alone.
Now if we assume Cosi did an equivalent of an hour of fast walking a day as part of the show (we're led to believe there is a lot of strenuous activity done by contestants so we expect more) then using the Energy Exercise Calculator, Cosi would have used an additional 2,772 kJ per day (25 days, 60 minutes fast walking exercise a day, 140.8 kg), or 69,300 kJ over 25 days. Again dividing by 33,000 for the energy in 1 kg of fat we end up with another 2.1 kg lost through exercise.
That gives us at total of 8.78 kg through dieting and exercise and that is within a 10% variation with what Weight Loss Maths would expect the result to be.
The Biggest Loser ends up giving people unreal expectations of what they can achieve through dieting and exercise because it creates an incorrect perception of a weekly weigh in. Anyone who thinks they can achieve the same results as shown on The Biggest Loser will be in for a very big disappointment because what we are shown is not real. That to me is truly disappointing.
Thanks to Cosi for sharing the information which can help everyone make a better and informed decision.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.WeightLossMaths.com.au
In the interview Andrew states where he lost 9 kg in one 'week', the week was actually 25 days. The shortest 'week' was 16 days. Those huge numbers that people believe the Biggest Loser contestants are achieving each week from this article have no connection to reality. It is simply misleading to the viewing public and shows like the Biggest Loser should be ashamed. People wonder why they can't achieve the same result and the reason is simple. The contestants aren't achieving the results either.
Using the approach I share in Weight Loss Maths I once took the weight loss of one of the Biggest Loser contestants and thought, the rigorous training contestants are put through must be achieving much more than I expect. But the reality is, it isn't.
Based on information from Wikipedia, Cosi lost 9.5 kg in the first week. He started at 140.8 kg. Let's do the maths. We first gather some information about Cosi.
Age: 28
Starting BMI: 41.1
Starting Weight: 140.8 kg
Height: 185 cm
The amount of energy Cosi would need to consume to maintain his starting weight using the BMI/BMR calculator was 13,757 kJ with a normal level of activity.
Now for the next step I can only make an assumption. I've read but can't confirm contestants are put on a very low calorie diet. Let's assume this is 1,200 calories per day or 4,944 kJ. (I really felt it may be as low as 1,000 calories per day, but 1,200 appears to be a recommended minimum, so I used that as the basis for the calculation.)
That means Cosi is reducing his energy intake by 8,813 kJ per day (13,757 - 4,944).
Over a period of 25 days this is 220,325 kJ.
There is approximately 33,000 kJ in one kg of fat. If we divide 220,325 by 33,000 this gives us 6.68 kg.
That means 70% of Cosi's lost weight is from dieting alone.
Now if we assume Cosi did an equivalent of an hour of fast walking a day as part of the show (we're led to believe there is a lot of strenuous activity done by contestants so we expect more) then using the Energy Exercise Calculator, Cosi would have used an additional 2,772 kJ per day (25 days, 60 minutes fast walking exercise a day, 140.8 kg), or 69,300 kJ over 25 days. Again dividing by 33,000 for the energy in 1 kg of fat we end up with another 2.1 kg lost through exercise.
That gives us at total of 8.78 kg through dieting and exercise and that is within a 10% variation with what Weight Loss Maths would expect the result to be.
The Biggest Loser ends up giving people unreal expectations of what they can achieve through dieting and exercise because it creates an incorrect perception of a weekly weigh in. Anyone who thinks they can achieve the same results as shown on The Biggest Loser will be in for a very big disappointment because what we are shown is not real. That to me is truly disappointing.
Thanks to Cosi for sharing the information which can help everyone make a better and informed decision.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.WeightLossMaths.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.