This Dog Won't Hunt

In Britain, the BBC is about to produce a new show “aimed at helping overweight children tackle overeating.” By shaming.

It may seem like this story is an April Fools’ joke, but since it’s already May I fear that it isn’t.

In Britain, the BBC is about to produce a new show “aimed at helping overweight children tackle overeating.” How will it achieve this? According to MSNBC, the show will have teenagers star in a program called Fat Teens Can’t Hunt, in which they will be dropped into the Australian outback to live and eat with Aboriginal communities.

They will survive for a month on ‘bush tucker’ including witchetty grubs, local berries and grasses, or go hungry.

Mmmm, witchetty grubs. Actually, native Australians have (or had, prior to white settlement) a rather wide-ranging diet in the bush, one that includes plenty of fresh meat. Although I suppose expecting a show called Fat Teens Can’t Hunt to be culturally accurate is somewhat laughable.

Nutritionist Jenny O’Dea isn’t a fan of the concept of the show.

‘Children don’t need to hunt and catch their own food. Their parents need to put good food in front of them and make sure they eat it,’ she said.

According to the article, she also believes it may “cause serious psychological problems for both participants and viewers with its ‘blame, shame and humiliate’ approach.” I wonder who will suffer more psychological damage—the unfortunate participants or the audience.

Posted by Miriam Wolf | Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 7:18am | 1 comment
Tagged with: msnbc, britain, obesity, fat, fat teens can't hunt, overweight children, reality tv