Jillian Michaels warns of 'glamorizing' obesity: 'We’re politically correct to the point of endangering people'

Updated

Jillian Michaels believes there are serious health implications in the new politically correct world we live in. The 45-year-old trainer who starred on The Biggest Loser from 2005 through 2014 said it's good to be "inclusive of everyone," but warned about the dangers of "glamorizing" obesity.

"I think we’re politically correct to the point of endangering people," Micheals told Women's Health U.K. "Yes, we want to be inclusive of everyone [and respect that] everyone comes in all different shapes and sizes."

The bestselling author continued, "Nobody should ever be body shamed or fat-shamed or excluded and that everyone is equally deserving and should feel equally valuable. But obesity in itself is not something that should be glamorized. But we’ve become so politically correct that no one wants to say it."

Michaels said The Biggest Loser wouldn't work in the current climate.

"I think the world has shifted to a place where that format and messaging is considered fat-shaming," she explained. "But it isn’t, and it’s not meant to be. Now we’ve gone so far in the opposite direction."

The Biggest Loser is actually returning to television — but it will be a revamped version moving from NBC to USA. Bob Harper is the only original star returning and he'll host the new season, set to premiere early next year. In a recent interview with People, he said: "the whole look of the show is going to be so different."

The new season is about a more holistic approach to weight loss.

"It’s not about getting skinny, it’s about getting healthy," Harper, 54, explained. "You see people getting off medication, reversing their type 2 diabetes, lowering their blood pressure."

The Biggest Loser went off the air in 2016 and faced widespread criticism for its extreme weight loss methods. NBC apparently launched an investigation into whether contestants were given drugs to aid in losing weight. Many contestants who appeared on the show ended up regaining most of the weight they lost, if not more and a scientific study was published suggesting rapid weight loss could have permanently slowed their metabolisms.

Harper said some familiar Biggest Loser staples will return, like weigh-ins, team competitions and daily workouts with trainers, but there will be no "temptation challenges."

"We’re looking at changing the way that they eat, the way that they think and how they move their body," he explained. "Telling them the importance of managing their stress and how important sleep is when it comes to weight loss. We really want to get that whole-body approach."

Michaels is not involved with version 2.0 as the new trainers will be Erica Lugo and Steve Cook. Harper knows there will still be some Biggest Loser critics, but that anyone who watches will "see a bunch of people really trying to make a difference in their own lives and change something. And I hope they get inspired by that."

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