Plus-sized Reality Shows Dominate TV

High Television Ratings for Heavyweight Drama

Plus-size personalities are garnering big ratings on US television, proving once more that fat is suddenly fabulous, especially with reality TV.

Although the US struggles with massive weight issues off screen, shows like The Biggest Loser, Drop Dead Diva, More To Love or Dance Your Ass Off continue to win rating wars on prime time TV.

Fat Figures: Big is Beautiful on US Television

As a reality-TV show, The Biggest Loser continues to be the heftiest hit on NBC with top-ratings for the show during all four seasons. The show captures the despair, grit and triumphs of a group of grossly overweight Americans pushed to their limits in an attempt to shed those extra pounds.

Then there's Drop Dead Diva, a comedic drama series about a skinny model who dies in a car accident and is sent back in a curvy lawyer's body that had a record-setting launch for Lifetime.

Another reality TV hit is Dance Your Ass Off, where overweight contestants shake their jiggly bits on camera, scoring gold ratings for Oxygen in the US.

A further ratings top contender is More To Love, a new dating competition show on Fox where Luke Conley, a 150kg-plus real estate developer gets to play bachelor to a group of 'real' full-figured women, determined to prove that love comes in all shapes and sizes.

So why do shows that feature plus-size personalities score top ratings on US television?

Heavyweights are Popular

The answer is simple when you consider the nation's struggle with weight issues. A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that the adult obesity rate increased in 23 US states last year with more than 30% of children considered to be overweight. Shows about weight loss may be a reflection of the audiences' own body-image.

"People are identifying a little more with who they see [on screen], that's probably why they're tuning in to these kinds of shows," explains Conley, the plus-size bachelor on More to Love in an interview with USA Today.

More and more viewers are fed up by stick-thin models, hour-glass figures and body-hugging outfits presented on screen and therefore crave TV formats that put the spotlight on plus-size people with superb personalities.

Cashing in on the latest trend, producers confirm that the popularity of these shows is based on the viewer's sympathy and identification with contestants struggling with their expanding waistlines, given the fact that almost a third of the US is overweight.

"It's so basic," says Josh Berman, creator of Drop Dead Diva. "Most people want to see people who look like themselves. They may be a size 14, but they don't see a lot of that on TV or in movies. Unless it's the funny best friend, they're not front and centre."

So for once the TV screen will not be filled with picture-perfect body shapes, but with 'real' people who are in the spotlight for their big personalities,working hard to get into shape.