ArchivesEvery week on The Biggest Loser, contestants weigh in on a big magic scale. The scale isn’t very nice, as it taunts the contestant before delivering the actual weight. Does she weight 190? 175? 210? 140? Does he weight 350? 325? 290? 305?
A reader of the MSNBC Ask the Reality TV Experts column that I co-write asked about the fairness of the men and women weighting in while wearing different clothes, and that prompted me to investigate the scale.
As it turns out, the scale a prop scale that is made for television. The show’s executive producer, Dave Broome, confirmed that it is just for show. What is entirely real, however, are the contestants reactions. Although they weigh in before the ceremony, they learn their latest weight for the first time while standing on the big scale.
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