More than 40 former contestants from “The Biggest Loser” got together tonight for a reunion special, but one important person wasn't there: Ryan C. Benson, who lost 122 of his 330-pound starting weight, and went on to win the program’s first season, the New York Times reports. Now weighing in at over 300 pounds, Benson says he was shunned by the show because he admitted he lost some weight by fasting, even dehydrating himself until he urinated blood. “The Biggest Loser” is now in its eighth season, and is one of NBC’s most watched shows. But doctors, nutritionists and physiologists who don’t work on the show have expressed doubt about its regimen of strict diet and up to six hours a day of exercise, in which contestants sometimes lose over 15 pounds per week. (Experts recommend losing two pounds per week for healthy weight loss.)
Safety concerns have been raised since the show debuted in 2004, and several contestants over the years have been shown collapsing or needing medical assistance on-air. But no fatal or life-threatening episodes, such as a heart attack, have been linked to the show.
"Biggest Loser" producers and supporters say the program is giving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to people who desperately want to shed weight, while at the same time inspiring millions of Americans to improve their health.
That said, NBC severely restricts cast members from talking openly about their experience on the show. The Times notes:
Getting contestants to talk openly about the environment of the program is difficult. Shortly after a reporter started contacting former contestants to interview them about their experiences, a talent producer on the series sent an e-mail message to many former contestants reminding them that "serious consequences" could ensue if they ever talked to a reporter without the show's permission.
To do so could subject them to a fine of $100,000 or $1 million, depending on the timing of the interview, according to the e-mail message, which was obtained by The New York Times. The show's producers did provide an opportunity to interview several former contestants, but the interviews were conducted with an NBC publicist listening in.
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