Losing weight like a man

Ask any woman who's ever dieted along with her husband, and she'll tell
you: Men lose weight easier than women do.

"It's their metabolism. It's their testosterone," said personal trainer Jillian Michaels. The co-star of NBC's reality show "The Biggest Loser" added that men simply don't carry their fat and hold on to it like women do.

Five seasons in to "The Biggest Loser," and a woman has yet to walk away with the prize, leading some critics to say that the scales are tilted -- literally -- in favor of men.
But that could change Tuesday night during "The Biggest Loser" season finale that begins at 8 on NBC.

For the uninitiated, the show sequesters a group of obese men and women with two tough-as-nails trainers -- and watches as the drama unfolds to see who can lose the largest percentage of their body weight.

This season, fans of the show were given the power to vote online to decide which of the remaining male contestants will get the third and final spot in the weight-loss competition that comes with a $250,000 cash prize. Ironically, the outcome of that vote could determine whether a woman finally walks away with the prize.

If the audience votes for Roger, the affable former football player who has lost 144 lbs. will likely go on to win the game. A vote for the fiercely competitive Mark, however, could boost the chances that Ali, a former championship synchronized swimmer who lost 99 lbs., could become the first-ever female to win the U.S. title. The fourth contestant for the prize is Kelly. She's a long shot, even as she endeared herself to viewers with her Little Engine that Could attitude.

Executive producer Mark Koops said there are no plans to change the structure of the show. (Some have suggested creating two prizes -- one for the women, and one for the men.) He says, however, that it's just a matter of time before a woman wins.

--Rene Lynch

Photo: Chris Haston / NBC

Comments

[Amy]

I am so not thrilled with the Biggest Loser as it really would be next to impossible for a woman to win and the show doesn't seem to want one on top either.
Of course Roger is going to be a shoe in and because he will be, the women of the program will be cast to the wayside one more time.
Its frustrating as a female viewer as I have just had it with this program. Its not just that they endlessly promote sponsored products throughout the show in the most obvious way possible or that the new focus on game play in the show is taking away from the shows message, its that the show continually pits men and women against each other and the gals always get the short end of the stick.
The men on the program almost always have the numbers in their favor in the sense that many of them will have well over 100-150 to even 200 pounds to lose. Adding to that, many of the male contestants will frequently have athletic backgrounds where as the female cast members won't. Ali is the rare exception to this case but there have been many guys on the show with college football backgrounds and as muscle has memory and can redevelop rapidly, the women are at a disadvantage once again. Not to mention the water retention women go through monthly with mensuration that can easily put a female contestant below the yellow line and when the women go home and then have to resume child care and household responsibility more so than the male contestants.
I think NBC is looking at this from the perspective of - if we make sure that a guy wins again this time (Roger) viewers will keep tuning in for future seasons just to see if a woman can win. The longer we delay it, the longer we will watch.....
Its sad really, this is a wonderful opportunity to challenge and champion overweight women but when it comes to this program, ladies should stop looking for a hero. Roger is going to win, that is the way NBC wants it and shame on them as it is women who actually spend more on the dieting industry. One would think that they could actually pander to their audience instead of propagating yet another boys club. Shame on them!