Everyone's seen this story, I'm sure. I'll rehash it briefly anyway. The Biggest Loser is a reality TV show on NBC that follows obese people as they live at a secluded facility and lose weight through diet and exercise. The contestants are eliminated or voted out of the competition until only three are left. The final three then have a number of months to finish their weight loss at home before being weighed in at a live reveal. The contestant with the largest percentage of weight loss is named the Biggest Loser and awarded $250,000. This past season, the winning contestant lost 59.62% (NOT "over 60%" as some people are exaggerating) of her original body weight and weighed in at only 105 pounds. This lead many people to believe that she is now too thin, unhealthy, encouraging people to take dangerous health risks, and that NBC is corrupt.
Let's begin with some facts. Rachel Frederickson is 5'4" tall. Her original starting weight was 260 lbs. This gave her a starting BMI of 44.62402. This BMI places her in the "Obese Class III" category. In layman's terms, this basically means very-severely-obese or super-obese. Rachel's finishing weight was 105 lbs. This gives her a finishing BMI of 18.02124 (You ridiculous person on the radio who reported that her BMI was between 16 and 17, you are a total idiot who did no research). This BMI places her in the Underweight category. "Healthy" BMI is considered to be between 18.5 and 24.9. This means that Rachel's BMI is less than 0.5 away from a "Healthy" BMI. Rachel is the first person in Biggest Loser history to finish with a BMI that places her in the "Underweight" category.
Here are some generalities that should also be considered. BMI is a fairly arbitrary measure that does not consider bone density, general "build" (ectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph, etc.), hydration level, hormones/menstruation, etc. BMI of 18.4 to 16.0 is considered "Underweight." This term does not necessarily mean unhealthy. The BMI table references BMIs lower than 16.0 and extends to two categories beyond "Underweight" to express increased health risk. Many people (athletes) will purposefully dehydrate before a weigh in to seem to be a few pounds lighter. If just a few pounds could make the difference between winning $250,000 and going home with nothing, wouldn't you do it? Most people who compete on the Biggest Loser do not maintain their complete weight loss. Many gain 10 to 20 pounds back fairly quickly after the finale. Most manage to maintain this weight for years after the competition. We do not know Rachel's natural "comfortable" weight. She may very well have been quite thin before she began emotionally eating and got fat. We do know that she was an athlete, so she was probably slim.
And here are some comparison statistics to think about.
-The Biggest Loser contestant with the next-lowest finishing BMI was Helen Phillips, who is 5'6", and weighed in at 117 pounds, giving her a BMI of 18.9.
-Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels is 5'2.5" tall and weighs 115 pounds, giving her a BMI of 20.696.
-While filming Black Swan, actress Natalie Portman (5'3") got down to 97 pounds, giving her a BMI of 17.181.
-Kristen Chenoweth is 4'11" and weighs 88 pounds, giving her a BMI of 17.772.
-Author Stephanie Meyer describes Bella Swan of the Twilight Saga as 5'4" and 110 pounds, giving her a BMI of 18.8794. Kristen Stewart is 5'6" and 120 pounds, so her BMI is 19.3664.
-I (Jillian) am 5'3" and weigh 95 pounds, giving me a BMI of 16.83.
-My good friend is 5'4" and weighs 107 pounds, so her BMI is 18.36.
-The average BMI for a woman in Vietnam is 18.73.
-The average BMI for a woman in the US is 27.00. This falls in the "Overweight "category.
-Most contestants who appear on the Biggest Loser (and do not make the final 3) have a BMI in the mid-to-high 20's at the finale. They have usually dropped from the "Obese Class III" category to the "Overweight" category.
-The categories I've been referencing are from the US version of the BMI chart. While the calculation to find the numerical BMI is the same in every country, the categorical designations are different based on the health tendencies of the population. In Japan, there is no "Underweight" category. Anything under 18.5 is considered "Low."
If Rachel weighed 108 pounds (only three pounds more than her weight at the finale), she would have a BMI of just over 18.5, placing her in the "Healthy" category.
Rachel and her trainer Dolvett recently did a magazine interview. They both acknowledged that Rachel probably lost a little too much weight, and she will now be working on maintaining her fitness goals with a healthy BMI. Rachel has stated that she has undergone medical testing to confirm that she is healthy. She also denies having an eating disorder. Rachel states her reason for losing so much weight for the finale was to shock and impress family and friends.
So I've got a beef with the world, the US in particular. When other contestants step onto the stage for the Biggest Loser finale, they are often still overweight. They look a good bit better than they did in the beginning, but they are still "fat" and their BMI's place them above the limit of the "Healthy" category. It is considered to be in bad taste to say that one of these contestants is fat. You're supposed to say, "Oh he/she looks so much better. He/she has done so well on his/her weight loss journey. I'm sure he/she will maintain and continue to lose in the quest to get healthy..."
But when Rachel walked the stage looking pretty much proportional to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model (and may I point out that no one seems to have a problem with them being slim and beautiful), nobody has a qualm about ripping the woman apart. She is being called anorexic, ugly, a cheater, sick, deceptive, and a proponent of self harm. And I think she is being called these things because of three pounds. THREE bloody pounds. If she had weighed in at 108 pounds and had a BMI of 18.5, I think the public would be lauding her and saying she looked fantastic and is a role model for all. And you know what? Rachel might actually weigh 108 pounds. She may have dehydrated to lose a few pounds of water weight right before the big night.
Or her natural comfortable weight may actually be around (not necessarily exactly) 105 pounds. I have already shared my BMI, and I am well aware that it is considered "Underweight" (though I will point out that it is in the "Underweight" category, not in the two more severe categories below "Underweight"). I am a dancer, and I work out 10 to 12 hours per week. I eat a healthy diet with lots of high energy foods like nuts and avocado. I also like junk food, and I indulge every once in a while. I am fairly severely hypoglycemic, so I tend to metabolize food very quickly. My weight stays pretty stable between 95 and 98 pounds. I briefly weighed in the 105-110 range during high school when I was not exercising. Once I began exercising again, my weight dropped back to the 95-98 range. This is my natural comfortable weight. All of the females in my family are petite. I have a pretty regular menstrual cycle. My doctor has confirmed my general health. I enjoy being slim, and I think my figure makes me attractive. I accept my weight for what it is.
Some people have made it their duty to inform me of my implied non-health. They come to this conclusion purely based on my weight and BMI. I have observed that people who do this generally do not approach slightly overweight people and inform them of their implied non-health. What has happened to social standards of equality? It seems like respect for the naturally thin was shoved out when "fat acceptance" became a thing in the media. "Fatness" seems to have become a physical trait equitable to a large nose: you can change it to become mainstream and forgotten, or you can accept yourself the way you are and receive praise for doing so. The only problem is that there is rarely a health risk associated with a large nose, and there is more often a health risk associated with being overweight, and especially obese. If Rebel Wilson and Melissa McCarthy lost a lot of weight, they would probably be much healthier (lower blood pressure, lowered risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, lower cholesterol, etc.). However, I think both of these actresses would be criticized as "bending to Hollywood standards" or some other nonsense if they made the positive health change of losing weight.
I don't mean to go all conspiracy theorist on you, but it seems to me like the social standards (and medical standards, to a lesser extent) are creeping up to accept a nation and world that is overweight. I think we are preparing for the future we are warned about; one with 75+% of the population in the "Overweight" or "Obese" category. When we laud Rebel Wilson and publicly embarrass Rachel Frederickson, we are enforcing the new and frankly scary standard that fat is ok, and that it is better than thin. BMI standards have not been changed for many decades, but they are occasionally modified to reflect changes in data. For example, Asian individuals are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI than Caucasian individuals, so the BMI chart in some Asian countries have been changed to make the "Overweight" category start below 25. What happens in the United States when so much of the population is overweight that the chart needs a little modification to reflect what's going on. What if all of the sudden the "Underweight" category starts at 19.0 instead of 18.5? What if "Overweight" started at 30.0 instead of 25.0? Then how many more previously healthy people will be considered underweight and therefore unhealthy?
To restate one of my original points, BMI is just a number. It is a calculation that takes into account weight and height. So many other factors go into making a person healthy or unhealthy. I don't think it's a reliable measurement when it is considered alone.
And finally, what I've been meaning to say all along: Leave poor Rachel alone. She's fine. If she is happy. She is much healthier than she was at 260 pounds. Trust me, I know all about this. She's fine.
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