Fat Losers – The Biggest Loser Asia
Jul 27th, 2009, in Society, by Patung
Are you a fat loser? Do you want to be a fat loser? ‘The Biggest Loser Asia’ is here.
The Hallmark Channel is gearing up to bring its “Biggest Loser” weight loss reality tv series to Asia and is seeking Indonesian contestants to compete for the prestigious “Biggest Loser” (of fat) title and a $100,000 prize.
That means you, fatty.
Over a grueling 13 weeks of one hour episodes
…..selected participants will face real-life temptations and undergo intense physical training. They will be guided by a team of personal trainers to assist them in successfully achieving the life altering challenges and goals during the series.
Karen Johnston of NBC Universal Networks said recently in Jakarta that she was thrilled to give Indonesian fat losers the opportunity to compete for the biggest loser trophy, to lose weight, and change their lives forever.
Malaysian fat losers in KL trying out for the series
There was a serious side to the program, she said, with the winner to become spokesman for an all-Asia health and anti-obesity campaign.
Losing, and winning
Online registrations at www.biggestloserasia.com close by 8th August 2009.
American fat losers
43 Comments on “Fat Losers – The Biggest Loser Asia”
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Arie Brand says:
“Obesity is actually a sign of prosperity…”
It might be so in Indonesia, but, Andy, you can hardly maintain that it is equally so in Australia. We are living in a New South Wales town that is more working class than middle class and you see real monsters of obesity here, especially among the women.
The explanation is simple. Contrary to what we have been told for decades it is not fats and proteins that cause obesity but carbohydrates. And since carbohydrates are by and large cheaper than fats and proteins, and consumed in large quantities by those who cannot afford the more expensive stuff, obesity is here the very opposite of a sign of prosperity.
For the physiological background to this all read Gary Taubes’ magisterial work Good Calories, Bad Calories or Michael Eades’ Protein Power. Eades’ has also got a very lively and instructive blog on these matters.
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joao says:
Both fatties and losers abound and thrive in Indonesia so, yes, the program will positively be the next big thing (pun intended) !
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Tomm says:
If you could see Adnan Sami, he is one of the biggest fat looser. He is on really did a unbelievable job.
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@ Andy…
At last count the Indonesian middle class was bigger that the total population of Australia. So, obesity in the middle class is certainly a problem for Indonesia as it is for Australia and most other countries.
Obesity and the associated health problems that stem from obesity are going to be problems wherever they are found. This is not going to be more or less prevalent in Indonesia.
If I am not mistaken there are recent reports that highlight just how bad the obesity problem is in Australia. There were also some forward projections of what the obesity epidemic was going to cost Australia, the numbers (as I recall off the top of my head) were not pretty.
But, I have to give it to you, you’re never one to miss an opportunity to engage in some Indonesian bashing.
@ Arie…
Interesting point on the link between obesity and prosperity or lack thereof.
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We were set on the wrong track by a few cardiologists way back in the sixties who maintained that it was fat consumption that led to obesity and heart trouble. Ancel Keys was one of the central persons there and, unfortunately, he was a very forceful personality who managed to push his views through (and keep opposed ones out) in conferences and journals.
Fighting fat consumption has however only led to more obesity (and heart attacks).
Carbohydrates are the real troublemakers as our grandfathers and grandmothers who warned against too many potatotoes, too much bread (or rice) and too much sugar already knew.
See among many other related sites:
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Andy says:
Sorry Rob, I meant percentage of population. Yes with 230 million they have more middle class people than Australia but Australia’s population of 21 million is almost entirely middle class or affluent. Indonesia, on the other hand, has around 50 % living on $2 a day or less. Pretty hard to be obese when you don’t even know if you’ll eat some days.
But this show will work because Indonesians love to watch and laugh at those who are ‘physically or mentally challenged’ and you could be excused for thinking the entire population is middle class if you see their trashy sinetrons etc. Not a squalid kampung in sight. I wonder how Indonesians think about how their TV heroes are so different to reality. -
I think this would be an interesting show. I wonder how they do it though, is it purely exercising and diet or is there extra supplements taken?
Honestly, I find more Indonesian children are obese. I don’t remember my friends being obese, maybe one or two, during elementary school. Now, they are everywhere. I think introducing easily home-made cooking would be a good show. It is easier to maintain and build good habit of eating than get rid of the fat after being accumulated in the body for so long!
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BrotherMouzone says:
@Andy
But this show will work because Indonesians love to watch and laugh at those who are ‘physically or mentally challenged’
Yes, Ha! Those Indonesians and their childish love of puerile entertainment. Not at all like us westerners with our sophisticated approach… What’s that? It’s a local version of an NBC show? D’oh….
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Brother read the whole post and not just take one line and you will see what I said….Yes we laugh at many things (although I personally hate reality TV) but only in Indonesia have I seen people laugh at road accidents. This is also the same race which took photos on their cell phones of the recent bombings and sent them to their friends. They thought this was quite funny and cool while the civilised world was horrified. They also cheered in the streets after 9/11. Infantile morons.
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Bintang Nababan says:
ditto that Andy. Just like the country itself, the people who live in it are low in education department and still immature on many levels. And I think it will stay the same till the end of the world around 2020, considering nothing much has been done to prevent it to happen, especially in Indonesia where it’s like a really huge dumping area for motorcycles and cars. A quote from Einstein: “There are two things that are infinite: The Universe and the stupidity of human race, but I’m not so sure about the Universe though”
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@Andy
Brother read the whole post and not just take one line and you will see what I said….
I have just reread your entire post and have seen what you said. I’m pretty sure you called Indonesians infantile morons and suggested that their “race” was inclined towards insensitivity and laughing at violence and misfortune. (If by their “race”, you mean the human race, I couldn’t agree more).
Have you seen YouTube recently? Or Cops? Or pretty much anything made by Fox? I think you’ll find urge to laugh at others’ misfortune is a human disease common among the under-educated; be they in Jakarta, or in what you snobbishly refer to as “the civilized world”.
Bintang Nababan said;
ditto that Andy. Just like the country itself, the people who live in it are low in education department and still immature on many levels. And I think it will stay the same till the end of the world around 2020…
Love that quote; sounds blandly normal if misguided in the first sentence. Utterly fruit-bat loopy in the second. Good show, Bintang.
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ET says:
Andy said
Yes we laugh at many things (although I personally hate reality TV) but only in Indonesia have I seen people laugh at road accidents.
Laughing with other people’s misery or embarrassment is a really striking indonesian phenomenon. I’ve been to several other places in this world with equally low education opportunities which do not show this symptom to the same degree as Indonesia. It would be quite interesting to know what its psychological backgrounds are.
Suggestions or opinions anyone?
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Cukurungan says:
It would be quite interesting to know what its psychological backgrounds are.
Suggestions or opinions anyone?
SENANG MELIHAT ORANG LAIN SUSAH DAN SUSAH MELIHAT ORANG LAIN SENANG
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Laughing with other people’s misery or embarrassment is a really striking indonesian phenomenon.
Again, it’s a striking human phenomenon.
The way some of you are going on, you’d think that at any road accident in Indonesia, everybody is cracking up, slapping their thighs, with tears of mirth in their eyes. That is contrary to my own experience. You might see a little nervous laughter or the occasional smile but anyone who has ever witnessed an Indonesian member of staff getting a bollocking will know that nervous laughter is perfectly common in uncomfortable situations.
It doesn’t mean they’re enjoying the experience.
Suggestions or opinions anyone?
Be a little more aware and don’t judge everything from your own cultural perspective.
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Kesian deh luw….
Swaying pointing finger
Girly giggles / psycho nerdy laugh
(all at the same time) -
Be a little more aware and don’t judge everything from your own cultural perspective.
O, I see. It’s all about culture. hahahaha
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O, I see. It’s all about culture. hahahaha
What else could it be about? I was under the impression we were talking about cultural differences. So, yes, it’s all about culture.
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What else could it be about? I was under the impression we were talking about cultural differences. So, yes, it’s all about culture.
In my universe the purpose of culture is to enhance our condition, not to demean it.
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Is there such thing as condition-enhancing culture? If you do learn new things and change your culture to a more-advanced one, sure, but the culture itself doesn’t have such purpose, the learning does. Culture is something which happens naturally throughout our lives resulting from what we’ve learnt. Whether it enhances our lives’ condition or regresses it, like said before, wasn’t the purpose and rather a result in accordance with how advance the culture has been “educated”.
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Let me give an example of this so called culture. Some time ago I happened to be in a household where one of the kids, a seven year old fatso, got into a temper because lunch wasn’t served fast enough to his liking. To underline his frustrated craving for food, standing on the platform of a balai, he kicked the attending pembantu, a woman 7 months pregnant, right into her belly. The poor woman collapsed in shock and started to cry. I let you guess what the reaction was of the bystanders, among which the family of the kid. Hahaha. No reprimanding whatsoever. When I showed my indignation about what happened the reaction to it was only more chuckle.
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And we can see clearly they lack necessary education to consider that as a disrespectful act towards humanity and esp. people older than you even tho she is only a pembantu, plus it’s an act ofviolence. And obviously this kid has been learning so much about it that now he takes his part in the tradition. But it occurs to me that your story has a lil bit of unreal feeling to it, just as diego asked. Is your story for real?
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ET,
I got a bright idea: if your story is real, why don’t you post the name of the family here, and pictures would help.
Maybe it sounds nasty; punishment by media (internet), but it’s for greater good. Geez, what if the baby was affected?
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Lairedion says:
So kicking a pregnant woman’s belly is now an example of Indonesian culture?
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@ET
So kicking a pregnant woman’s belly is now an example of Indonesian culture?
Apparently so, in ET’s world.
I’m thinking it’s a little bit of creative fiction on ET’s part (or one of those – “well I didn’t see it myself but my cousin’s brother’s sister’s ex-girlfriend’s dog saw it and he’s pretty reliable” – type stories).
Don’t get me wrong, when I see violence against maids by their wealthy families, it really upsets me and I am likely to say or do something. I would say it is the exception rather than the norm though, mate.
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I have a very extensive family from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds, religions and social statures with loads of “pembantu” but I never experienced or heard such a thing. When I was young we had two pembantu and I considered them as aunts.
I wouldn’t say ET cooked up this story but I find it slightly offensive and simplistic to describe this as a part of Indonesian culture.
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Pakmantri says:
Brother Mouzone said,
Don’t get me wrong, when I see violence against maids by their wealthy families, it really upsets me and I am likely to say or do something.
Exactly ……. that’s what I’ll do.
My question to ET is, what did you do when you see the incident? Smile like the others in the room and do nothing?
Salam.
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Let me give an example of this so called culture. Some time ago I happened to be in a household where one of the kids, a seven year old fatso, got into a temper because lunch wasn’t served fast enough to his liking. To underline his frustrated craving for food, standing on the platform of a balai, he kicked the attending pembantu, a woman 7 months pregnant, right into her belly. The poor woman collapsed in shock and started to cry. I let you guess what the reaction was of the bystanders, among which the family of the kid. Hahaha. No reprimanding whatsoever. When I showed my indignation about what happened the reaction to it was only more chuckle.
I so surprised that I have so many common ground with Mister ET in seeing this world reality:
So I can conclude that the below is amazing progress of the western culture compare to the low progress of the eastern culture where the boy in Southeast Asia just only can do kicking his maid while in the west culture, the boy make a progress leap, he even able to f**k his own mother as below:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-8688951-details/Boy,+15,+raped+his+mother/article.do
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Suryo Perkoso says:
Andy Says:
July 31st, 2009 at 3:13 am
Brother read the whole post and not just take one line and you will see what I said….Yes we laugh at many things (although I personally hate reality TV) but only in Indonesia have I seen people laugh at road accidents. This is also the same race which took photos on their cell phones of the recent bombings and sent them to their friends. They thought this was quite funny and cool while the civilised world was horrified. They also cheered in the streets after 9/11. Infantile morons.You are in some twilight world of the demented. Have you taken a look at rotten.com amongst others? Get off your flaming pulpit.
ET Says:
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am
Let me give an example of this so called culture. Some time ago I happened to be in a household where one of the kids, a seven year old fatso, got into a temper because lunch wasn’t served fast enough to his liking. To underline his frustrated craving for food, standing on the platform of a balai, he kicked the attending pembantu, a woman 7 months pregnant, right into her belly. The poor woman collapsed in shock and started to cry. I let you guess what the reaction was of the bystanders, among which the family of the kid. Hahaha. No reprimanding whatsoever. When I showed my indignation about what happened the reaction to it was only more chuckle.Let me guess, would this have been a HITACHI family by chance?
Comment on “Fat Losers – The Biggest Loser Asia”.
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Obesity is actually a sign of prosperity and wherever there are wealthy Indonesians you will find overweight people. Just go to the food court in Plaza Senayan on a Sunday afternoon and see fat kids pigging out on Pizza Hut etc. If you only included the middle class (which is quite small compared to western countries) you would probably find obesity is as much if not more of a problem than in the west. It is exacerbated by the general laziness amogst these communities. Sporting participation, walking and housework are frowned upon by these people who think it is dirty or ‘kampung’ to engage in such things. Pampered middle class Indos will continue to grow enormously and so this program should be a huge hit for many years.