Trainer Michelle Bridges bites back over weight loss complaints

MICHELLE Bridges has defended her show, The Biggest Loser, after criticism it promotes unnaturally quick weight loss.

Michelle Bridges says there are many more benefits in The Biggest Loser than just losing

MICHELLE Bridges has defended her show, The Biggest Loser, after criticism it promotes unnaturally quick weight loss.

The attacks come after startling pictures emerged of American contestant Rachel Frederickson who lost 72kg in just a few short months.

Former contestants of the reality show have also come out saying they put the weight straight back on and the show was more like a quick fix.

Bridges, who is on tour promoting her new recipe book, Superfoods, said there were many more benefits of the show than just losing weight.

“You can’t deny the numbers,’’ she said.

“There are people who are no longer taking medication for blood pressure, they are no longer taking medication for diabetes, in some instances they are no longer taking medication for depression, their knees are better, their backs are better, the risk of heart attack and stroke has all been reduced.

“Their life expectancy is better. Seriously, you can’t refute that.”

Bridges said she rarely watched her own show.

“I am so busy I don’t spend that much time watching television,” she said.

But when it came to her books, she was very hands-on.

“The time factor is certainly tricky, but we just block out time in my ridicously busy schedule and I just turn the phones off and shut the door and get my head around what I need to talk about,” she said.

IN other TV news, Channel 10’s revamped So You Think You Can Dance is struggling to attract an audience. On Sunday night the show averaged 313,000 viewers.

Channel 7 had the No. 1 show with My Kitchen Rules, which averaged 1,863,000.