Biggest Loser Takes Flak Over Winner's Huge Weight Loss

Rachel Frederickson lost about 60% of her body weight
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2014 2:16 PM CST
Biggest Loser Takes Flak Over Winner's Huge Weight Loss
A screen grab of winner Rachel Frederickson.   (YouTube)

The Biggest Loser crowned a new winner last night, but the general reaction seems to be concern that she did too well, reports the Los Angeles Times. Rachel Frederickson, 24, went from 260 pounds to 105 pounds over the course of the season, which amounts to a drop in body weight of about 60%. Even trainers on the show seemed astonished as she walked on stage during the finale, with Jillian Michaels mouthing, "Oh my God," reports Entertainment Tonight. Social media reacted the way you might expect, with viewers criticizing the show, NBC, and Frederickson herself.(Though the sentiment wasn't unanimous.)

The former competitive swimmer dropped to a weight of about 150 pounds while under a physician's care at the show's ranch, but obviously kept shedding weight before the finale, writes Kiley Thompson at Zap2it. "Where was the doctor after she left, before the big reveal? Basically, who failed her once she left the ranch and was working, supposedly, on her own?" At the Huffington Post, Shannon Oliver writes that Frederickson looks "dangerously underweight," but she hopes people ease up on the contestant herself. "Spewing Tweets about how 'awful' and 'gross' Rachel looks is just as harmful. She is human. She has working eyes. She will feel defeated, mortified, and confused." Frederickson was expected to address the media today. (More The Biggest Loser stories.)

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