Biggest Loser Gave Contestant an Eating Disorder?

The NBC hit show Biggest


has been praised for whipping overweight and (more often) obese

Americans into shape with a strict diet and exercise regime, monitored 24/7 by

a team of health professionals including nutritionists, doctors, psychologists

and trainers. But season three finalist Kai Hibbard is blowing the lid off the

whole myth and revealing how traumatized she has been by her experience on the show.







entirely for good tv,"

Hibbard told Jezebel in an exclusive interview.

Amongst her other accusations:

This isn't the first time I've heard this criticism of The

Biggest Loser

, but it is the first time I've heard it from a former contestant.

But having worked in entertainment I am not surprised at all. Producers care

about ratings, they care about money and they care about good television. They

don't care about their cast, and on a reality show, where the cast are real

people, this can be a real problem.

I'm impressed Hibbard would speak out, and I think more

likely than not she is speaking the truth. But what is so scary is how

intimidated she was by the process that it took over her entire life.

Honestly, the more I watch the vast majority of the media in

this country, in general, the more afraid I get; afraid that we as viewers are

helping entertainers violate human decency for our own viewing pleasure.

Hibbard says, "You



sign it they will. . ."

It sounds like a terrible clich© but is probably true.

People are so obsessed with fame and beauty they will do anything, and she was

reminded of it to the point that it wasn't even "if your friends jump off

a bridge will you," but "if you don't jump off that bridge your

friends will do it instead." And that seems to be enough.

I hope for her sake, she works through this and for our sake

we are a little more suspicious of a show in which they try to tell us they are

helping people by yelling at them until they cry, getting on their backs while

they do push-ups and making them exercise so much it makes them sick.

- Alexandra Gekas,

Associate Editor

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