USA Today reports, “The grueling boot-camp workouts on NBC’s The Biggest Loser help contestants lose large amounts of body fat while preserving their muscle mass, a new study shows.”
The “scientists measured the weight, body composition and resting metabolic rate of the 16 participants at the start of the show, at Week 6 and at Week 30, the finale.”
The findings, presented recently at the meeting of the Obesity Society in San Diego, noted that “overall, the contestants dropped from an average 49% body fat to 27%,” and “after 30 weeks, participants lost an average of 128 pounds; 81% was body fat and 19% was fat-free mass, mostly muscle.”