I can't believe that we as a country have come to the point of allowing and encouraging our overweight children to get a lap-band in order to combat obesity. This is not going to make the situation go away. It's only just a quick-fix and not a solution. If a lap-band was meant to be in our bodies, we would have been created with it! We as parents need to teach our children the right way of eating to avoid surgery.

These kids are just this, they are kids and they don't understand the complications that comes with this type of surgery. The kids just want to fit into our world because they are probably being teased and abused because of their weight, or wanting to look like a famous celebrity, so they are looking for that quick fix even at their age. But this is where parents should step in and design a healthy eating and exercise plan for their child and to do the plan with them.

This will encourage their children so that they don't think that they are different than the rest of their family. Australia, you need to wake up and smell the roses. Lap-band for yourself or especially your children is not the answer to losing weight. We simply need to get up and move our bodies and learn how to eat natural foods. Realistically we as a parents haven't got the right to allow and sign that consent form on behalf of our children because they may regret the decision when they get older. What is this world coming to?

I think it's great to have any weight loss show that genuinely encourages people to lose weight and offers them real advice on how to do it, but I don't believe that any show should encourage extreme and dangerous behaviour to lose weight. It's demeaning and unnecessary. I was shocked The Biggest Loser is encouraging contestants to run a 10km marathon at the size they are. Aside from the physical concerns I have about such extreme behaviours, emotionally this sort of message does nothing to encourage obese people at home to do something about their size. It's hardly motivating or inspiring, it's stupid!

Imagine someone that weighs 150kgs trying to run 10k. Who are they kidding and what really happened behind the scenes of the show that viewers didn't get to see? Are the producers presenting a true picture of what the contestants went through? The audience at home who are over weight are getting a message that they need to almost die to lose weight. This is wrong. I can't bare to watch these people literally vomiting while exercising. It is a disgrace. It is demeaning to the contestants, a poor message to send out to anyone watching at home who may have weight problems, and aside from all of that, it's just not the right way to lose weight. I know it’s just a television show but there are people all over the world watching these shows looking for any shred of hope they can gather, and what they're being served is not hope, but fear. You do not need to push yourself to the point of vomiting to lose weight. You should not ever be made to feel like a freak or be humiliated to lose weight.

I do believe you need to allow yourself to come out of your comfort zone, but not in this sort of extreme way. You don't need to work out for 3 to 6 hours per day to get results - who has the time? It is not right for the contestants who are vulnerable and desperate to be put in that position because they will do whatever they are told, even if it's not the right way to lose weight. I'd like to know how many Biggest Loser contestants have put weight back on since they've been home and back in the real world with no trainers or chefs. The proper way to lose weight is to incorporate a healthy diet and exercise plan that you can handle and make part of your everyday life and to start believing in yourself, because YOU are THE BIGGEST WINNER. And you can achieve anything you set your mind to without resorting to such tactics. Believe in yourself, you can achieve anything, a gift of life is believing.

This video provides a basic run down of who Karen Gatt is and what she does. It also provides valuable information related to statistics of obesity in the U.S.A.