User:Ashkel2181/My 600-lb Life

Controversy
Highlighting weight loss in a negative and dramatic light could cause some controversy. When viewers see the struggles of those who are morbidly obese such as the subjects of this show in something as informal and dramatized as a reality TV show it can reinforce negative stereotypes. One being, those who are overweight are often linked to low status, sloth like and gluttony. Also, with the rapid weight loss goals, it may reinforce or disregard proper attention for eating disorder behavior. Eating disorders such as binge eating disorder that typically cause obesity are treated as bad individual behavior whereas anorexia is seen as a debilitating medical condition that someone suffers from and must be treated. Lastly, there could be the issue of the after effects of such drastic weight loss and eating habits that come from participating in the show. Studies have been shown through a survey of those who had lost 100 pounds or more from gastric bypass such as in the show, nearly every patient would rather be deaf, blind, have heart disease or lose a leg than gain the weight back. This clearly shows that people view being overweight or obese worse than life threatening problems such as heart disease and showcases a stigma against fat people.