(NewsNation) — “The Biggest Loser” Netflix docuseries “Fit For TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser,” has drawn plenty of mixed reviews, including from contestants who were on the show.
“The Biggest Loser” was a huge TV hit that ran for 17 seasons and helped hundreds of people collectively lose thousands of pounds.
However, contestants allege in the new docuseries that they gained all the weight back and were left with issues resulting from appearing on the series.
Dr. Robert Huizenga, who was the primary physician on the show, joined “CUOMO” on Tuesday to talk about the backlash the show has received over allegations in the docuseries, including that contestants’ metabolisms were permanently damaged.
A National Institutes of Health study in 2017 followed 14 contestants and found that many of them regained much or all the weight they lost on the show.
Huizenga’s ‘Biggest Loser’ regret
Huizenga told “CUOMO” that his biggest regret was not overseeing the NIH study, which he said caused “so much pain and grief to the contestants.”
“It was so heartbreaking when they came out and said their metabolisms were permanently damaged,” he said. “That was found to not be true.”
“Basically, they made a critical error. They did the metabolic rate on the first day of the show. These contestants were coming from all over the country. They were so nervous, so excited, that they couldn’t sleep.
“They were so amped up that their metabolic rates, we believe, were higher than normal.”
Huizenga says study of contestants’ metabolic rates was way off
Huizenga and his team said they concluded the information about the metabolic rates was off by comparing patients who had undergone bariatric surgery.
“The initial metabolic rate they typed in was way off. Subsequently, we see other doctors trying to reproduce that study, and they could not,” he said.
Huizenga said contestants called him crying, asking if their metabolism was ruined for life. It’s another painful reminder of how people were affected by the show.
“We were trying to learn, we were trying to help,” Huizenga said.
Huizenga said he checked on contestants
“The Biggest Loser” ended up being a cash cow, but some contestants felt they could’ve used a lot more support after the appearances.
Danny Cahill, the season 8 winner who lost 239 pounds, said in the docuseries that they didn’t get any aftercare or support on how to keep the weight off once they returned home.
Huizenga said he didn’t make any money off the program and did his best to stay in touch with contestants.
“I did attempt, as I think all these contestants will verify, to call them all up and to try to see how everybody was doing over time,” he said.
“And we charted them for those first six years. I just wish I could have done more, and the show could have done more.”
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Author: Rob Taub
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