New Study Reveals ‘The Biggest Loser’ Contestants’ Metabolism Never Recovers, Could Be Reason For Weight Gain

When contestants join The Biggest Loser, they start to lose weight really fast, and a new study says this could actually be the reason that they gain weight back after they leave the show. People shared the details of this new study, which explain how their metabolism never recovers after taking off the weight so fast. This research wasn’t just a random study either. They actually followed people who were on The Biggest Loser and lost a lot of weight.

The researchers followed 14 of the contestants that were on Season 8 of The Biggest Loser. Fan-favorite and winner Danny Cahill was one of the people they followed to see if he gained back the weight. They actually followed these contestants from The Biggest Loser for six years. So did they gain back the weight they lost on The Biggest Loser? It turns out that 13 out of 14 of the contestants gained back at least some of the weight they lost on the show. Four of them actually gained back more weight than they lost on The Biggest Loser.

Erinn Egbert was able to keep off all of the weight she lost on The Biggest Loser, and then she also lost more since getting home. That doesn’t mean that things are perfect for her, though. It turns out that she is having issues with the fact that she has slow metabolism too, probably from her time on the show. This study says that they actually have a metabolism that is just fine when they started the show, but then it slows down from exercising and dieting at such a rapid speed.

The reason why 'The Biggest Loser' contestants have regained all that lost weight https://t.co/B4tbuVwXqT pic.twitter.com/qLlbEF5u2t

— Fox News Health (@foxnewshealth) May 3, 2016

People shared that The Biggest Loser isn’t taking this lightly either, and they do have plans to look into what is going on.

Here is what The Biggest Loser shared.

“We have comprehensive procedures and support systems in place which we routinely re-evaluate to ensure all contestants receive the best care possible. The lead medical doctor on the show, who has worked with the National Institutes of Health on initiatives in the past relating to The Biggest Loser has been made aware of this most recent study and is in the process of evaluating its findings.”

The study was published in the journal Obesity and conducted through the National Institutes of Health. They shared one big detail, which is that “The Biggest Loser participants with the greatest weight loss at the end of the competition also experienced the greatest slowing of [their metabolism] at that time.”

If you are curious how Danny Cahill is doing now, he has gained back some of the weight, but not all of it. He actually burns 800 calories less a day than he should at his size. He weighed 191 pounds when the show ended, and Danny is now back up to 295 pounds He started the show at 430 pounds.

They lost hundreds of pounds on "The Biggest Loser." Then the weight crept back. https://t.co/QZ1esjEVCY pic.twitter.com/5TPpN6XUty

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 2, 2016

People also shared that Ali Vincent has gained back weight since she was on the show The Biggest Loser as well. Ali shared that she knew this study was going on but didn’t know what they were studying exactly. Now that she has gained back almost all of her weight, Ali is ready to lose it again. Ali shared something she dealt with after going home.

“I remember being so hungry right before leaving the Biggest Loser campus to go home and train for the finale. I didn’t understand why. Jillian [Michaels] had told me that’s because my metabolism was finally working for me, and that was a good thing.”

Ali is now working with a trainer to lose the weight again and is hoping they can get her metabolism to speed back up. The Biggest Loser contestants may be able to lose weight again now that they understand part of why they are having issues.

Are you shocked to hear that this study explains why people who were on The Biggest Loser have trouble keeping the weight off? Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts, and don’t miss The Biggest Loser when it returns to NBC.

[Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images]