Writer Neal Justin is trying to make the point that the rash of plus-size TV shows — Drop Dead Diva, Dance Your Ass Off; Ruby, More To Love and The Biggest Loser — are getting great ratings, and writes: "Fat is suddenly fabulous, at least on TV." Not in real life! In real life it's still totally gross, okay?

But what Justin wants to know is why. Why would people want to watch shows with plus-size characters? He writes, "Why this appetite for fuller-figured personalities?" But it almost sounds like: Why would you want to watch fatties?

You'd think, since according to one study, "adult obesity rates increased in 23 states last year," it's about American audiences seeing a reflection of themselves.

But Paul Telegdy, who oversees NBC's reality programming (including Biggest Loser) says: "I think it embraces a concern and a worry that keeps a lot of Americans awake at night." Hear that? You're lying awake at night, afraid to get fat, which makes you watch The Biggest Loser.

Yeah, I'll just go ahead and say: Bullshit! If you're watching these shows, it's because there's drama, and a human story. We love a personal story, and if it's personal, it's universal. Even if you've never been overweight, you can understand the range of human emotions showcased on these programs: Frustration, heartbreak, dedication, triumph. As Loser host Alison Sweeney says: "[The show] strikes at the heart of the human spirit.You see people being able to overcome this obstacle that seems insurmountable. Miracles can happen."

And honestly? It's not like plus-size, overweight, fat or large people all live sequestered from society. In many cases, they're your mom, your dad, your aunt, your uncle, you, me. It's not strange that people are interested in seeing plus-size people on TV; it's strange that up until now, plus-size people have been mostly ignored on TV.

A Growing Appetite for Plus-Size Personalities [WaPo]

This year television has seen an increase in shows featuring participants and stars who look more like the viewing public […] Amy Introcaso-Davis, senior vice president of original programming and development at Oxygen, said dance and diet are two areas of interest for younger viewers of the channel, so combining the two made sense.

For a nation grappling with obesity, Introcaso-Davis said, there is a hunger for such shows.

Get it? A hunger?

Introcaso-Davis also says: "If you have five pounds to lose or you have 150 pounds to lose, it's something you think about all day long," she said. "You take a bite of cheesecake and you think 'Should I be doing this?'" First: Not every every person with five or 150 pounds to lose is sitting around eating cheesecake. Medication, genetics, thyroid issues, metabolism… there are so many reasons a person may be overweight, and it may not have anything to do with cheesecake.

In any case, France also spoke with Esther Rothblum, a professor of women's studies at San Diego State University and co-editor of the forthcoming anthology The Fat Studies Reader. She says: "Most people feel too fat in this country and are made to feel very unhappy with their bodies. So by portraying somebody who weighs so much more than they do, it's almost a way to make the audience feel like 'I could look worse' or 'At least I'm not them.' "

But Introcaso-Davis claims that people find the DYAO contestants "relatable." So which is it: Do audiences look at overweight people on TV and think, "That could be me"? Or do they think, "I'm glad I'm not that bad." Does plus-size TV inspire or disgust? The answer may be: Both. In the "Sound Off" section of this CNN story, there are two comments. The first, from "Tamara":

I think these shows are great....I actually would like to go on Dance your Fat A off[sic] or the biggest loser.....

The second, from "Matt"

Yes, lets make it socailly[sic] acceptable to be obese. That will be good for our society! (rolls eyes)

They can air all the shows they want on obese people, I still won't date one.

Plus-Sized TV Shows Find Big Audience [CNN]

Apparently, Jenny Craig was embarrassed after their spokeswoman Kirstie Alley gained back a large amount of the weight she lost on the plan. TMZ points out, "the new plan...get someone who can look good by losing a relatively small amount of weight — In Queen's case, 20 lbs. She looks really good, if not svelte, but if she gains it back it's not going to look like Jenny Craig was a failure."

Of course, Jenny Craig commercials are meant to get people to buy their product, whereas shows like the Biggest Loser are primarily meant to entertain. As Stanley said, "There isn’t much punch or visual payoff to a loss of 20 or 30 pounds; viewers have come to expect 100- and 200-pound miracles." However, doesn't this drastic, hyper-speed sort of unrealistic weight loss get old after a while, even if it is vaguely aspirational for some? If people identify with weight loss struggles and triumphs, wouldn't they want to see them on a smaller, more realistic scale? Probably not, especially when you consider that the most realistic, healthy cross-section of female figures on television is on a show that takes place fifty years ago.

Plus-Size Sideshow [NYT]
Jenny Craig's Weight Loss Strategy [BFDblog]
Jenny Craig Hits It Big With Queen [TMZ]

Earlier: The Retro Women Of Mad Men Are The Most Interesting On TV

Because today it struck me, reading about Barack Obama and the Jews and the homeland thing, that it is probably somewhere in my own flawed human makeup to desire a home. Sure, I've done okay paying rent on twenty-two separate apartments over the past ten years, but I had come to see a sort of home in the route through through Soho to the bank branch that probably just called my lost cell phone to tell me my new debit card had arrived like the walk up the hill to the Hong Kong consulate where they'd fast-track replacement passports like the run down Broadway to the American Express Travel Office, and a sense of comfort in the fact that when someone loses the keys to the PT Cruiser we rented in LA in the middle of Palm Springs, that I know what to do, and that it will take a few hours and a hundred bucks if it's a transponder key, and that that is not such a big deal; it's no excuse to freak out. And that anyone with a sufficiently deficient attention span can tell you losing an iPod is no occasion to freak out if you're used to being alone with your thoughts, which I am after hundreds of hours sitting and waiting for my number to be called at the current municipality's DMV. When the revolution comes and the paramilitary guerrilla dudes knock down the door to raid us of our valuables, folks, that's when you freak out. But see, the problem is I wouldn't freak out, because I have no fucking valuables, because I've grown hyper-accustomed to the impermanence of everything, at my happiest converting currency into beer precisely because in the morning I'll be sober, so thanks for salvaging the hoodie, dude, you are probably right that I am going to get cold.

According to the LAT, the Loser brass has been encouraging contestants to chew it because "gum can curb appetite, prevent snacking and provide an edge in the weight-loss game." It might be true to an extent, but the contestants on Loser are also exercising several hours a day and being fed incredibly healthy food in a controlled environment. The fact that they're losing a ton of weight? Yeah, it's not the gum.

Chewing gum is also a weight-loss strategy among some of the women interviewed by Allure for an article called, "Junk-food dieters fake their way to skinny." Kate, a 32-year-old advertising executive, chews an entire 18-piece pack of Extra a day to avoid snacking. Other women interviewed for the piece swear by Diet Coke, Starbucks, Tasti-D, and those apocalyptic 100-calorie snack packs as weight loss helpers. "Many believe ingesting a few artificial ingredients is a small price to pay for being able to eat the things they love while staying as thin as a Pringle," according to Allure. Um, no shit? Basically, these women are counting calories and sometimes rely on processed foods to do so. How is this newsworthy? Eating fewer calories will always make you lose weight, even if those calories are spent entirely on sugar-free Jell-O. When your paramount goal is to be skinny, not healthy, you're going to resort to whatever measures possible to reach your goal. That said, I will give up diet coke when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

Chew Gum To Lose Weight? [Los Angeles Times]
Junk-food Dieters Fake Their Way To Skinny [Allure via MSNBC]

Earlier: Annals Of Anorexia
100-Calorie Snacks Are The Downfall Of American Civilization

Lowri's experiences in non-televised "slimming clubs" weren't much better:

We were pitted against one another, albeit more subtly. Forget the idea that it's a communal effort — this is dog eat dog (even if that is all you get to eat all week). At the center of a slimming club meeting is the weigh-in. This involves queuing up for either a pat on the head by the group leader or a disapproving click of the tongue...As you inch towards the scales...you feel yourself metamorphosing from an adult with a job, a family and a life into a pathetic five-year-old begging for a "well done" from the teacher. There is usually a "slimmer of the week" prize for the most well-behaved dieter, and although stories about forcing those who have "failed" to wear piggie masks may be apocryphal, these days at least, those slimmers who have gained flab do not get to stand up and take a bow.

Big Losers, But Can Viewers Keep the Pace? [New York Times]
Friends, Dignity, Self Respect ... Weight Wasn't All I Lost At My Slimming Club [Daily Mail]
Earlier: Your Coworker With The Candy And Cookies Is Trying To Make You Fat
Related: Why do women Feel OK About Their Bodies Until Other Women Show Up? [Psychology Today]