Supersize v Superskinny - the guiltiest pleasure of them all (Supersize Vs Superskinny)

Member Name: grey0220

Product:	Supersize Vs Superskinny
Date:	04/11/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All the pleasures of a greasy take-away without the physical side-effects; seems to truly help

Disadvantages: A lot of nudity (and not toned nudity but wobbly nudity) so not for the faint-hearted

Supersize vs Superskinny is a genuinely guilty pleasure of mine, as I'm sure it is to anyone who tunes into it regularly. It is a mixture of food porn and utter humiliation disguised as therapy (two key ingredients for stellar trash TV), but at the end of each episode, you do get the sense that these people are genuinely being helped - so you don't feel that bad about enjoying it so much.

Basically, Dr Christian Jessen runs a 'food clinic' somewhere in London, where every week, a severely underweight person and a severely overweight person 'swap diets' for four days, each realising the extent to which they could eat more/less without dying. It goes without saying that whilst each participants' food habits are poor, they aren't psychologically disordered, and the skinny person typically has the desire to gain weight whilst the overweight person typically has the desire to lose weight. At the end of their stay in the food clinic, they are each given proper diet and exercise plans, with the aim to return to the clinic in 6 months time with their their health and happiness vastly improved.

That's all very noble sounding but the experience begins with the ultimate humiliation - each participant is stripped down to their underwear, and they are forced to see their weekly intake of food poured grotesquely into a container as the Doctor admonishes them for how little/large it is and the voice-over lets you know how 'astonishing' their under/overeat per week truly is. The week continues with them preparing meals for one another and then having to watch each other eat the meals - this invariably ends up being the 'supersize' contender finishing their half slice of toast, having been forced to leave the crusts (as they would not normally be eaten), and longingly watching the 'superskinny' struggle through three full portions of Chinese takeaway as a starter with an entire roast chicken as their main. It's at its worse when the 'supersize' is so ashamed of the effect that their super-bloating portions are having on their tiny counterpart (i.e. fatigue, burping, generally un-wellness). It's humiliating, spine-tingling stuff, and absolutely compelling.

In addition to the main 'versus' battle, there are also bits with Anna Richardson, who is presumably representative of the 'Everywoman' in her quest to lose weight and/or inspire others to lose weight. She's charming enough but she's hardly the reason why I carry on watching.

If you're uncomfortable with flesh (and lots, lots of it) and/or food, then literally run as far away from this programme as you can. But if the above description makes you want to break out the popcorn, then you won't be sorry you tuned in!

Summary: Next to 'Come Dine With Me', voyerur foodie watching at its best!