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BY JILL ALPHONSO
WHEN I was younger, I would have sworn blind that I was a fat person just waiting to happen.
The evidence was in my father's genes, and you'd only have to look at my hips and thighs to know where that inheritance lies. (His side of the family ain't small.)
I've managed, through a healthy diet and sensible exercise regime, to never have come close to being overweight. And I attribute my regular Bikram's yoga (also known as hot yoga) practice with helping me abolish any lingering body issues. (Yoga offers psychological benefits that can help with non-judgement of yourself and others.)
Watching the show The Biggest Loser Asia, however, sent a twinge of worry through me. It's a show, after all, that fills your television screen with people who are overweight and who are desperate to lose that weight.
Just for a moment, as I watched audition tapes of those who wanted to be on the show break down about their lives and how being overweight restricted them, I was that 18-year-old girl who was worried about becoming fat again.
A formerly overweight friend also told a colleague of mine that though he is now a healthy size, watching the show made him acutely aware of his weight and what he had to do to keep it off.
I had to wonder if Loser is a healthy programme to watch.
The show, though, aims to address the obesity crisis and to help people become aware of the issue. It claims to help those who are seeking to lose weight train to do so by changing their unhealthy lifestyle habits. But it has come under criticism that it is too extreme in its efforts.
A New York Times story noted that doctors, nutritionists and physiologists not affiliated with The Biggest Loser (the original American version of the show, which is in its eighth season) express "doubt about the programme's regimen of severe caloric restriction and up to six hours a day of strenuous exercise, which cause contestants to sometimes lose more than 6.8kg a week".
At least two contestants have confessed to using dangerous weight-loss techniques, including self-induced dehydration.
And some say that the show puts emphasis on the cultural obsession with losing weight.
I don't disparage the criticism. In fact, I kind of agree with it. So, what got me thinking about tuning in to the show again this week?
What hooks are moments that are wrenching and so achingly true.
Gary Holden, 115kg, from Britain but based in Thailand, said in the premiere episode: "Being overweight has been the burden of my life...I've turned 40 and I just want to change... I'm doing this for myself, but also for my wife. I want to come out and make her jaw drop."
I expect that, like the American version, what might be inspiring is seeing the contestants - who hail from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines - not just starting to look better, but watching them face their inner demons - and triumph.
So this is what I think: Sure, the show has got its critics. But the American version has had great results, with contestants reporting that they've stuck to their new lifestyles and eating habits. Most importantly, they've gained a new lease of life in the process.
I'm hoping Loser Asia will turn out to be the same, and that it inspires more people than it turns off.
myp@sph.com.sg
The Biggest Loser Asia airs on the Hallmark Channel (StarHub Ch 17) on Tuesdays at 9pm.
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