The overarching claim among weight-loss reality TV shows is that one must lose weight in order to become beautiful. While words related to ‘fatness’ tended to be medicalized, there was still the idea that it was a problem that needed to be fixed through losing weight. Both of these claims could be understood together to mean that these weight-loss shows promote losing weight both to fix oneself in a medical sense as well as to regain the beauty that they had initially lost after gaining the weight.
The Biggest Loser
Throughout the seven episodes analyzed of The Biggest Loser, there was a consistent theme that arose that while the word ‘beautiful’ was used frequently (N=24), it was only reserved for after contestants had lost weight. Words similar to ‘fat’ such as ‘heavy’ (N=8) or ‘overweight’ (N=6) were also used frequently but were talked about negatively rather than medically and were used in the context that their weight was something to fix. There was an overarching claim throughout the show that beauty is something to work towards through weight loss measures. While not said explicitly, the sole focus on how much weight people lost, regardless of whether or not it was healthy for their height and age, supported this idea. To be skinny was the ultimate goal, because then contestants would finally feel beautiful in their own bodies.
This concept can be depicted in a ScreenShot pictured below that shows a contestant at their season finale walking next to a holograph of their old body. The holograph next to the contestant’s body post weight-loss is meant to signify how much of a transformation has taken place and is meant to be a shock factor to the audience. The holograph image pre weight-loss depicts a larger female body in clothes that do not fit well and with a sullen face, while the contestant post weight-loss seems shocked and happy with her progress and is wearing clothes that fit well and emphasize her thinness. This looking back on their weight loss journey provides viewers an understanding that they view themselves and that others view them as more beautiful now that they have lost the weight.
Screenshot from The Biggest Loser Season 15 Episode 15 “Episode #1515” Amazon Prime Video.
Another major way in which The Biggest Loser presented the idea that fat and beauty cannot coexist is through the fact that all of the episodes had a consistent pattern of female contestants feeling unhappy about their appearance before being on the show and feeling happy about their appearance during the finale after they had lost the weight. Prior to losing weight, Nicole stated that:
“I feel like I need to fall in love with myself again. I need to be that same beautiful woman that he believed me to be.”
Nicole, The Biggest Loser Season 7 Episode 20, around 38min
Since losing the weight, she states that:
“I am not faking my life right now. I feel like for the first time in a long time, I’m actually living my life.”
Nicole, The biggest loser season 7 episode 20, around 39min
This example is just one of many where contestants feel depressed and lost before losing weight and seem to find themselves again and become much happier after losing the weight.
My 600LB Life
Over the six episodes analyzed, My 600LB Life used the words ‘fat’ (N=16) and ‘big’ (N=16) the most frequently out of all the beauty and weight-related words that I was coding for. The show also used the word ‘fat’ more in a medical sense than in a negative sense since contestants were likely to be experiencing extreme health issues due to their weight. My 600LB Life did much better in terms of providing understanding of contestants’ individual situations than other weight-loss reality shows such as The Biggest Loser and contestants were viewed as individuals rather than just numbers. Contestants frequently opened up about traumatic experiences that they went through that caused them to seek out food as a coping mechanism and discussed their health-related concerns. Zsalynn, for example, stated that
“When you realize that you have to make a change or you’re gonna die, it’s surprising what you learn not just about yourself but about the people around you.”
Zsalynn, My 600lb life season 2 episode 1, around 1min
Quotes that are deeply understanding of the difficult situations they are in are common throughout the show in a way that presents contestants as people worthy of having their stories known and understood. Despite this more positive and understanding view of contestants’ situations, the word ‘beautiful’ was not once ever used in any of the episodes I watched. ‘Fat’ was again associated with the opposite of ‘beautiful’ due to this absence of use and therefore contributed to the notion that the two could not coexist.