One Thing I Don't Hate About The Biggest Loser

by Greg Plotkin · 2009-12-10 06:00:00 UTC
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In case you aren't familiar with the program, the NBC reality television show The Biggest Loser takes morbidly obese Americans from across the country and puts them through a multi-week "boot camp" in order to lose weight and learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Personally, I've grown more than tired with reality television, and don't find watching people running on treadmills particularly compelling (although I can certainly support any attempt to become healthier).  However, one of my roommates swears by the show so I caught a few minutes of the season finale Tuesday night.

What I was pleasantly surprised to see was a nearly five-minute segment devoted to raising awareness about hunger across the United States, and the need to support local food banks.

The Biggest Loser has a partnership with Feeding America, the nation's largest network of food banks.  Through their Pound for Pound Challenge, NBC/The Biggest Loser has offered to donate 14 cents -- enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank -- for every pound that Americans commit to lose by June 30, 2010.

No matter what the motivation behind this offer was, it comes at an extremely important time.  As we've talked about often here at Poverty in America, there are millions of people in the United Sates that regularly do not have access to adequate food.

I feel like I'm the last person who would ever give a reality television show props for having a social conscience, but considering that NBC could have booked millions of dollars in advertising revenue instead of showing the spot on the toll hunger is taking on Americans, I think they deserve it.

Whether you're a fan of the show or not, awareness is awareness, and devoting significant time to addressing what is becoming a national crisis is an admirable thing to do.

(Photo credit: Ben Sutherland on Flickr)

Greg Plotkin currently works for Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. He is dedicated to eliminating inequalities in who has access to healthy food and alleviating hunger.
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