Is the loss of 155 pounds and 60 percent body fat over the short duration of one Biggest Loser season taking the path to weight loss too far?

Rachel Frederickson, a voice-over artist and former competitive swimmer, entered The Biggest Loser competition at 5' 4'' weighing 260 pounds this year. When the final weigh-in was held, Rachel made history by showing the highest amount of weight loss in the show's 15 seasons.

Kelly Hogan, a clinical dietician at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York commented to CBS News: "She's actually pretty significantly underweight." And said about her weight loss routine that ended in a whopping 60% loss of body fat: "Anything that severe or that quick is risky." Although some nutritionists argue that whether any particular weight loss routine is healthy or advisable depends largely on a person's genetic makeup.

Many fans of the show are disappointed, feeling that Rachel has taking the process of weight loss to an extreme. One viewer tweeted, "I don't think I've ever been this uncomfortable watching the finale. Rachel just looks so sickly. She shouldn't be able to win." Another spectator commented on Twitter that she thought Rachel was providing a bad example for any young women who might potentially emulate her.  

Despite the controversy, in an interview with Reality T.V. World Rachel claims she has never felt better: "Like I said, I never felt this great and I know I'm going to feel ever better, because this life is just so open to me and I can't wait to take charge, because that's what I gained back. It's confidence, it's assuredness of myself to just take charge and conquer this life."

As for some of the show's ongoing detractors, this recent example has only stirred up more reason for criticizing the intensive and grueling methods of training that the contestants must go through, which, they argue, only serve to set up visible hardships as a means for entertainment.