The series premiere of ‘I Used To Be Fat’ overlapped with the end of the holiday season, during which millions of people indulged in delectable home-cooked meals and family dinners. Now that it’s time to shed those extra pounds, MTV is stepping in by making a weekly hour-long weight loss infomercial targeted at youth. Each week, viewers can tune in to watch the transformations of college-bound high school seniors like Gabriella and Marci, who are tired of feeling embarrassed because of their weight.
In the first episode, Gabriella proclaims that she wants to become “fit, fabulous, and fierce” and expresses her determination to revamp her image by snapping her fingers. After showing close-ups of her holding her tummy and upper arm fat, the producers turn to her social drama, wherein she argues with her mother, Arleen, who wants Gabriella to be “perfect”. “I want her to be happy, but thinner”, Arleen says.
While chatting at the kitchen table, Arleen reveals she has treated Gabriella like some sort of science experiment, by leaving out a tray of cookies and tracking how long it takes Gabriella to start snacking on them.
Cue the peppy theme song with the lyrics, “this is a new year, a new beginning”, thus signalling that MTV aspires to inspire viewers to fulfill their resolutions, which are typically abandoned shortly after New Year’s Eve. As per the confessional style common amongst reality shows, Gabriella explains that she told herself in previous years that she’ll finally make big changes in her life, yet failed to follow through on her ambitions. I think her trainer’s best piece of advice was telling Gabriella to stop using the phrase “I messed everything up”.
In the end, when Gabriella steps on the scale for her final weigh-in, she looks much cheerier and satisfied with her now slender figure. Despite its inspirational potential however, it is questionable how the show will make a dramatic difference for the average American teenager. What about viewers who can’t afford their own silly band wearing personal trainer? What if kids with similar snacking habits lose hope because they think Gabriella’s success is mainly attributable to her new motivational sidekick, courtesy of MTV?
Should people know how awful a first grader feels after being called “fatso”? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean there needs to be an entire TV series about it. The concept of encouraging youth to lead healthier lifestyles is great in theory, but kids are humiliated enough as it is and there’s no need for people to watch them struggle with weight lifting or rock climbing.
If MTV wants youth to bear closer resemblance to pop stars with strict workout regimes than those who frequently supersize their order, they should offer fitness DVDs as giveaways at their shows.
As the World Health Organization revises its guidelines for exercise, with an emphasis on fitness rather than fatness, fat politics remains a culturally significant issue and one that MTV should carefully address in their latest series.