Teen Limits Video Games to Lose Weight on The Biggest Loser

Imagine a child playing five hours of video games every day after school. And maybe nine hours each on Saturday and Sunday.

If it seems unbelievable, you probably didn’t watch the most recent episode of The Biggest Loser. The show, which still revolves around a weight-loss competition for obese adults, has made discussing childhood obesity a priority this season by featuring three severely overweight adolescents.

This week, the cameras headed to the children’s homes in tow with “Dr. Joanna,” a pediatrician and child and family nutrition specialist. She sat each family down to talk about how the kids spend their days, their eating habits and potential health problems.

The youngest, 13-year-old Biingo, gave Dr. Joanna a tour of his kitchen. As she went through the pantry and threw out junk food, she told him that he needs to limit his screen time to two hours per day.

As it stands, the youngster has been sitting in front of the TV as much 43 hours a week. He once played a video game for 17 hours in a row. To make matters worse, he snacks on junk food as he plays different games.

That’s an easy way to overeat.

Most people eat 25 percent more calories when they’re not focused on what they’re eating, Dr. Joanna told him.

Biingo has visibly slimmed down since he started the show. But he admitted that it’s pretty scary to make so many life changes to lose weight.

“It’s going to be hard, but I’m going to try to do it,” he said.

A lot of TV viewers will be rooting for him, too.

Alice Warchol is a freelance health blog writer and fitness instructor.

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