Weight loss through threat of public shame...

Does it work? is it only a short-term result then or can it last?

I was home yesterday and flipping channels in the morning when I saw Regis and Kelly. I stopped because they were interviewing Keanu Reeves, what can I say, I have a residual crush from his Point Break and Speed days. When I was 13 he was on the cover of Details and I bought several copies so I could hang both sides of the articles pages on my bedroom wall. That was 17 years ago, whoa. I feel old. Do teenagers today even know who he is? Maybe from the Matrix.

Anyway, back to the show, after Keanu they were weighing in their staff members who were part of a weight loss challenge.

Now, I know this is not a new idea for a show. Oprah has done it among other shows but I still find it disgusting. And I don't care what they say, when your boss (and I have a feeling Oprah is no different in this department) asks for volunteers, you have to agree, right? It's an abuse of power, and it's ugly - to then make your employees lose weight on national television, compare their weight loss, have the world see if they don't succeed or have a bad week.

Can this weight-loss possibly be a long-term life change? And isn't this just another way to shame people into weight-loss?