''Supersize vs Superskinny'' is a British television programme on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
that featured information about
dieting
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-redu ...
and extreme eating
lifestyles
Lifestyle often refers to:
* Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives
* ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle
* Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality
Lifestyle may also refer to:
Bus ...
. One of the main show features was a weekly comparison between an
overweight person, and an
underweight person. The two were taken to a feeding clinic, and lived together for five days (later on two days), swapping diets while supervised by Dr
Christian Jessen
Christian Spencer Jessen (born 4 March 1977) is a British celebrity doctor, television personality, and writer. He is best known for appearing in the Channel 4 programmes ''Embarrassing Bodies'' (2007–2015) and '' Supersize vs Superskinny'' (2 ...
.
Overview
The overweight person swapped diets with the underweight person. While the underweight person was suddenly given more food than they would usually eat in a few days at one meal, the overweight person was usually given tea, coffee, a small snack, or nothing sometimes. Most of the underweight people were unable to finish their meal, though occasionally the overweight people also refused or struggled to eat their meals, usually after having been in the feeding clinic for a few days. Occasionally both were allowed to leave the feeding clinic for a meal swap, if it was part of both of the participants' diets.
In earlier series, the show featured a food tube for each person. The tube contained what each person ate and drank in the span of one week.
Usually Dr Jessen used shock tactics to demonstrate how poor someone's diet was. Both participants were occasionally shown the extent of their poor diet - for example, through bags of sugar. The "superskinny" would usually be shown pictures of their body and be told about the drastic long-term health effects. In the second series, the "supersizer" was sent to meet a woman named Lisa, whose obesity had meant that she could no longer care for herself and was receiving an operation because of her weight. In later series, the "supersizer" was sent to the United States to visit someone that was heavier than they were. It was used as a shock tactic to show the "supersizer" what they could become if they did not stop their unhealthy lifestyles.
The show also featured
Anna Richardson
Anna Clare Richardson (born 27 September 1970) is an English television presenter, writer and journalist. She has presented various television shows for Channel 4, including '' Supersize vs Superskinny'' (2008–2009), '' The Sex Education Show ...
in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd series, who in the first series examined new methods to lose weight by trying diets she found on the Internet, some of which had shocking side effects. For example, Anna attempted ''Laser
lipolysis
Lipolysis is the metabolic pathway through which lipid triglycerides are hydrolyzed into a glycerol and free fatty acids. It is used to mobilize stored energy during fasting or exercise, and usually occurs in fat adipocytes. The most important ...
'', which went drastically wrong and resulted in severe bruising. Also, she discovered
Diabulimia and spoke to
Isabelle Caro
Isabelle Caro Rosenbohm (12 September 1982 – 18 November 2010) was a French model and actress from Marseille, France, who became well known after appearing in a controversial advertising campaign "No Anorexia" which showed Caro with vertebr ...
, a French actress, renowned for her underweight figure and
anorexia
Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
campaign. In the second series, Anna recruited a group of "flab-fighters" - women who wanted to lose weight and whose weight was tracked weekly - and she visited
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to discover ways A-listers would lose weight. The same series also saw a group of four anorexic women attempt to overcome their eating disorder through eating and preparing foods they would usually avoid with the help of a leading eating disorder specialist. In later series, formerly anorexic journalist Emma Wolf interviewed a number of people who had experienced the effects of eating disorders.
The second, third and fourth series also introduced a section whereby a group of people recovering from eating disorders (the second and third series featured people exclusively suffering from anorexia nervosa, while the fourth included a mixture of eating disorders) were overwatched by a specialist psychiatrist and dietician Ursula Philpot who co-presented ''Supersize vs Superskinny'' and who worked to challenge their issues with food.
During the first series in 2008, one feature involved
Gillian McKeith
Gillian McKeith (born 28 September 1959) is a Scottish television personality and writer. She is known for her promotion of various pseudoscientific ideas about health and nutrition. She is the former host of Channel 4's ''You Are What You Eat ...
, who tried to find a way to "ban big bums" in the UK. She tested out different exercises to tone the buttocks of different groups of ladies, and made a leader board for the most effective.
Transmissions
In 2011, a 4-episode children's version titled ''Supersize vs Superskinny Kids'' was produced and aired between 21 and 25 March 2011.
External links
*
*
* {{IMDb title, id=1173421, title=Supersize vs Superskinny
Review, Leicester Mercury
2008 British television series debuts
2014 British television series endings
Channel 4 original programming
Eating behaviors of humans
Obesity in the United Kingdom
Television series by Endemol
English-language television shows