The following was posted on the blog of a bariatric physician (a doctor who specializes in obesity and weight loss):

It has become one of NBC's flagship shows.

Dozens of Americans meet at a ranch vying for half a million dollars during a weight loss contest.

The first 4 months they spend working out on the ranch all day long under the supervision of trainers and eating prepared low calorie meals.

Contestants compete in the requisite competitions, many of which involve the ridiculous "food temptations", but most of which involve feats of physical strength or endurance.

After 4 months on the ranch the remaining folks (people get voted off each week) go home and spend I believe an additional 6 months trying to lose weight on their own until finally they all return and get weighed and the person who lost the most weight (as a percentage of their initial weight) wins.

Perhaps the most dramatic part of the show are the weekly weigh ins on the incredibly over-sized scale that builds suspense by displaying the contestants' weights bouncing around for some time before finally displaying how much they've lost that week.

Weigh-in wise, week after week the numbers are dramatically fluctuant with some weeks folks losing more than 5% of the previous week's weight and others, virtually nothing. Those variations are simply a reflection of different degrees of hydration and they don't really interest me - what interests me is the fact that consistently, season after season, some people simply lose faster than others with a cadre of contestants usually losing weight twice as fast as another cadre of slower losers.

So the fast losers - do you think they're eating half as much and working out twice as hard? Do they have double the "willpower" of the people who simply don't lose quicker? Are they twice as motivated?

Of course not - as is clearly evidenced by the television show, everyone on that ranch is busting their butts exercising and eating low calorie meals as they all have the added motivational benefits of unlimited time and resources, millions of national viewers and let's not forget the $250,000 carrot dangling in front of them.

So what's the difference?

Genetics.

Weight loss is not simply a one to one relationship between how many calories you eat and how many calories you burn. The body's a big black box with food going in the top and coming out the bottom but in between there are dramatic between person differences in how calories are handled. The result of course- some people lose weight far easier than others.

My conclusion therefore?

The show's all about genes.

Oh, and there are two winners on the show by the way. There's the "Biggest Loser" from the folks who don't get voted off earlier on and then there's the person from the folks who were voted off who loses the most.

The two winners from last year?

Identical twins.

If the other twin had been voted off, Neil would have won the $100,000. Neil was positioned between the twins.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but this guy is either posing as a doctor or just perpetuates shoddy science.

First, Physics trumps Genetics any day of the week. That statement flirts dangerously close to being in contradiction of the laws of Conservation of Matter and Conservation of Energy. It really is that simple. You will have differences based on water weight, yes. Different people will ADD muscle at different rates. However, in the end if Calories burned exceeds Calories taken in you will lose weight.

Second, he is making his evaluation based on watching the show and falls into the cardinal sin of science, using anecdotal evidence to support his argument. That right there burns any credibility he might have had.

Third, although everyone's body is different and responds differently, it is not the dramatic difference that people like to think it is. You as an individual are not that unique when it comes to physiology. The human body is a machine in the grand scheme of things. There are variations in how individuals operate, but it is not as much as some people like to believe. Sure, some people may be predisposed to metabolize in different ways, but we are not talking about exponential differences here. If there were exponential differences in how individual bodies worked we would be extinct as a species. We are talking one to two percent different. Do you really think burning 1 to 2 percent more FAT calories is going to make that much of a difference?

It may make you feel better to read what this guy is writing, but it just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. And for the litany of people about to cry "HE'S A DOCTOR! He knows these things", think about this. His livelihood as a bariatric physician rests in the idea that for some people diet and exercise is just not enough... does that make him impartial? Does that present a conflict of interest? Doctor's are not all knowing gods, although some like to believe differently.

What a silly blog.

The show is not all about genetics. As seen every season, there are some that just do not work as hard and even get into arguments and disagreements with the trainers as well as getting looked down at by the other contestants. Conversely, there are also some that go that "extra mile" and continue to work out when every one else is done, or go 110% at all the physical challenges.

Also, they are taught when, what, and how they should eat....but they have to actually do it. It looks like a lot of the time they make the final decision. They don't show us the food journal entries of the contestants, so we don't know who is being more consistent with the choices they make.

It's also kind of irresponsible for this physician to suggest it is all about genetics. I've actually heard people say things like, "well my parents were fat and my brother's fat, it runs in the family", "I just have bad genes, there's not much I can do about it", "well I'm just big boned". This is a defeatist attitude that doctors and physicians like the one above continue to help propagate.

A person who wins the biggest loser, has the same "genetics" as they did when they first came on the show and were morbidly obese. Which goes to show that a person who is morbidly obese, unhealthy and unhappy....can with the same genes....also be capable of being in good shape, healthy, and happy.

Every season these people come on the show and at the finale everyone of them has lost weight. It might be easier or harder for others, but the great thing about the show is that it shows that everyone is capable of it if they want it bad enough.

That says it all. Like anything that takes hard work and continued dedication, you simply have got to want it bad enough. If you don't, you will not succeed.

Genetics is more relevant in bodybuilding and in cases of weight training. Losing weight by doing massive amounts of cardio and eating sensibly is something that everyone can do, just that some people's bodies respond better than others.

This is exactly his point. He is not stating that genetics is THE factor in whether or not someone CAN lose weight through diet and excersie. He is stating that it is a factor in determining the ultimate WINNER of BL. Of course everyone can lose weight through hard work. But the AMOUNT of weight one loses IS affected by ones individual genetic make-up and body composition. Two people of similar body size can work just as hard and eat similar amounts of calories but, as we have seen many times on this show, one will simply respond more favorably in the weight loss department that the other. Yes, there are those contestants who are slackers and refuse to work as hard or who give in to food tempatation, but that is not the common occurence. For the most part, contestants work hard while on the ranch.

Trust me, he is not saying that it is "all about genetics". He fully understands the concept of calories in vs. calories out and the importance of diet and excerise. His basic point (which clearly you all failed to grasp) was "some people lose weight easier than others". Gasp!!! Winning BL may not JUST be about hard work!!

"It may make you feel better to read what this guy is writing, but it just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. And for the litany of people about to cry "HE'S A DOCTOR! He knows these things", think about this. His livelihood as a bariatric physician rests in the idea that for some people diet and exercise is just not enough... does that make him impartial? Does that present a conflict of interest? Doctor's are not all knowing gods, although some like to believe differently".

Ryan, why would it make me 'feel better' to read what he is writing?? I posted it because it was an interesting perspective. I am under no illusion that simply because he is a doctor, he knows "these things" (ESPECIALLY in the area of nutrition / fitness...an area in which most physicians have virtually NO training). However, bariatric medicine is a sub-specialty in which further training in this area is required. And no again, his livelihood does not rest on the idea that diet and excercise is just not good enough....his livelihood rests on that VERY idea. That is what he does for a living! Helps his patients to lose weight through diet and exercise in a medical setting. I did not say he was a bariatric surgeon. I think you totally missed his point. It is not that diet and exercise don't work for everyone; it is just that people's bodies, due to factors other than hard work, lose weight differently and at different rates and that is why in contest situation (such as this one) there will never truly be a level playing field.

1. What genetic tests has he done to verify that all the winners shared a common SUPER METABOLISM gene?
2. You are a little unclear on the concept of objectivity and impartiality. This guy has a vested financial interest in convincing people that diet and exercise may not be enough. Why? Because if diet and exercise were enough no one would need him, then he would be out of a job.
3. Why it may make you feel better? We all have coping mechanisms. Mine was always telling myself "I can lose all the weight when I feel like it" for others the coping mechanism is "Its not my fault I am overweight, it is genetic."
4. You seem to feel like you know this guy pretty well. Do you have knowledge of him beyond the article you posted?

Again, as stated, this article is bunk. You may have bought in hook, line, and sinker, but please don't present this as anything close to science. Can you even tell me if scientists have identified the "fat gene"? The answer is no by the way. So if we have not identified the genes that make it easier for some to lose weight and harder for others, then where is the SCIENTIFIC basis for what this guy is claiming?

I find this whole thread rather amusing. How is genetics a factor? First of all, the author of the blog doesn’t actually list any reasons for believing this, other than the two winners of season 4 were identical twins. (So, as stated by someone else, if they were both voted off than only one would have been able to win – maybe – because who knows if the motivation would have been the same if they were both voted off earlier in the game.) Second, what gene is causing them to lose faster or be better at losing? Is it because they have a better metabolism? Is it because they put out more testosterone? Is it because they produce more serotonin and therefore are less likely to feel depressed and more likely to believe they can succeed so they have more will power? Are these genetic traits? Let’s see…

Everything in our body has something to do with our genes, obviously. However, metabolism changes with the foods we eat. What we eat comes from the choices we make. We make choices often because of our emotions. Emotions affect and are effected by our hormones. How well we produce hormones may be considered genetics or… maybe we aren’t getting enough vitamins, minerals, things that which make our body function optimally… because… we’re eating crap.

Now, the twins are identical sure, they have that in common, but they also likely grew up together, so they have also had much of the same influences to help them develop thought processes, habits, etc. I’d say if genetics comes into play at all, it’s a very tiny factor since there are some many other variables in weight loss. Oh yes, and I’ll repeat that the author of the blog states nothing to back his conclusion - the fact that they were twins wasn’t the only thin in common they had and not the only differences they shared from other contestants.