Battle of bulge not so easy

30 May 2016 - 09:08 By LEONIE WAGNER

The launch of a new weight-loss reality television show has psychologists and obesity specialists issuing warnings about the dangers of such programmes.The weekly show Fat Chance explores one person's journey to conquer obesity with the help of a professional trainer.The person sets out to lose weight and gain enough confidence to confess his or her feelings to a person he or she's secretly loved.Cheyanne Lent, 28, from Los Angeles was one such contestant. Lent said she was tired of relying on a wing woman and that her weight had held her back from dating and living her best life."It was never about losing weight necessarily to make someone like me but it was so that I could feel comfortable enough to date somebody and to be real enough with someone," she said.Lent said she had struggled with her weight since she was a child. At her heaviest she weighed 118kg. At the end of her journey on Fat Chance, she weighed 67.5kg.Psychologist and obesity specialist Hermann Liebenbergsaid the body often told a story that the mind could not.Liebenberg warned that shows such as Fat Chance perpetuate the stereotype that obese people need to lose weight to be accepted."Unconditional love is possible, but a show like this unfortunately creates an impression that it's easier than what it is in real life. They reinforce the idea that love can be found when a person looks better."He warned that there was no easy way to lose weight for the obese.A recent study tracked eight former contestants on the US reality showThe Biggest Loser six years after their transformation.Researchers found their metabolism had slowed down, making it harder to keep off the weight. Some had regained the weight, other weighed more.Liebenberg said: "Reality shows create the impression that weight loss is easier than it really is. they don't show the part when the same person regains the weight."..

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