Jan. 21--Dr. Rob Huizenga is best known as the medical consultant for the reality TV show "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. The show features a crew of morbidly obese people who over several episodes drop scores of pounds in an attempt to win a big prize.
Huizenga's doctorly advice -- he is an associate professor of medicine at UCLA's medical school -- is to watch the show for entertainment; he says it's not a realistic reality show. He's been associated with the show for the past five years.
He visited St. Louis last week to tout his new book, "Where Did All The Fat Go?" which he says is not based on the show, but what he learned from the show, and
answered a few of our questions.
Q: Contestants on the television program lost a lot of weight working out like professional athletes. Can that be realistic for someone who's sitting at home?
A: The show is entertainment. What we do on "The Biggest Loser" is not appropriate to what I'd recommend for anyone to do.
Q: You're a Harvard-educated M.D. How did you get involved with such a show?
A: I got a call from the producers wanting a show where we could physically see the results in 10 weeks ... and combat all of the plastic surgery shows that were on.
As the team doctor for the LA Raiders, my job was to keep weight on (the big linemen) during two-a-day practices. But no matter what we did, we couldn't keep the weight on. We gave them food every four hours -- pizza, shakes, meals at 4 a.m. -- and they kept losing weight.
I suggested (for the show) two-a-day workouts plus dietary manipulations. And that's how the show began -- an exercise-based weight program ... of people working out like professional athletes.
Q: So your book isn't about how to lose weight like people on the show?
A: Not at all. Instead, we found that we can push the envelope, and the human body has incredible capabilities that no doctor or research knew was there.
Q: So you're saying two-a-days and eat better?
A: Yes. What we say is we're going to addict you to exercise. You have a shot because you don't lose weight, you lose fat. If you don't commit to an exercise program, you have no chance of success.
Q: Most fad diets seem workable, but there's always something deep into the book that jumps out that's obviously unrealistic. For yours, that seems to be the two-a-day workouts. Where can you get the time?
A: From the hours you spend watching television. Television is associated with obesity and death like cigarettes are associated with lung cancer. That's another oxymoron. Can you imagine doing research for a television show that finds out that TV is bad for you?
Q: And how do you get non-athletes to work out twice a day even if they have the time?
A: You have to be scared for your health and you have to want to feel better and you have to want to extend your life. At the end of the day, only you care about you. You can have a lot of other reasons, but somewhere inside, you have to say you want to be better, better at work, in your personal life, kinder to your significant other, a better parent, and you can't do that when you're always on edge. Exercise relieves your stress and makes you more focused and smarter. How many people would run out and buy a pill today if it made their brain sharper and more effective and less stressed and less depressed? That's what I offer. I have the magic pill. It's right here.
harry.jackson@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8234
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