Do reality shows reward obesity?

Does the Biggest Loser reward obesity? I'd argue.. yes.

When's the last time you saw a reality show that focused on skinny people trying to gain weight? Yes, it's a legitimate problem. It's also a struggle. It also comes with negative comments towards the person trying to gain the weight, and possibly depression and could lead to eating disorders to gain that weight. However, I've never seen such a show on television focusing on this problem.

There's been the Biggest Loser, Celebrity Fit Club, and Dance Your Ass Off. I rarely watched the last one, and only watched the season of Celebrity Fit Club with Screech on it (I wanted to throw the television set at him every time he was on screen) but if you look specifically at the Biggest Loser... think of how many rewards they get. The $250,000 cash prize at the end, $100,000 if you win at home, all the prizes after each challenge (usually monetary)... does the Biggest Loser reward obesity? Before you say "of course not!"... think of what got these contestants there in the first place. One of the qualifications for the show is to be morbidly obese with a high BMI.

One thing that made me really, REALLY hate the finale of Season 8 was the deal that Subway made with Shay. I quote from this Examiner article:

...But to help motifcate the California step-mom of two to continue losing weight and get healthy, Biggest Loser and Subway have made the 30 year old a huge offer. For every pound Shay loses between now and the Season 9 Finale (2010) Shay will receive $1,000. A clearly shocked Shay gladly accepted the challenge and blank check saying "You'll be seeing a 204 pound Shay."

OKAY. An all-out monetary bribe for her to lose weight, although she was already on the show for nearly the entire season! This is absolutely despicable and unfair. Yes, she was the largest one on campus. But no one was forcing her to eat all the food. Her obesity problem was absolutely terrible. I think it's unfair to the other contestants and to everyone else losing weight that she gets paid directly $1,000 for each pound she loses! Why not have Subway and the Biggest Loser donate $1,000 to a charity of her choosing rather than a check directly towards her? How many more people would apply to the Biggest Loser if they weighed over 500 pounds, knowing they could get so much money in doing so? I feel that people would apply only for the money and not the desire for losing weight.

The Biggest Loser almost lost a viewer on finale night. Don't make the same mistake again in the Season 9 finale. And Shay... donate the money.