The average 7th grader weighs about 105 pounds.

As does Rachel Frederickson, shocking audiences of ‘The Biggest Loser’ at the finale on February 4th, when she emerged from behind a screen looking much thinner than any of the other contestants.  She then weighed in at the final weigh in at 105 pounds, breaking all former ‘Biggest Loser’ records.

According to many entertainment reports, the cameras panned to a stunned looking Jillian Michaels, who was seen mouthing “Oh my God,” multiple times before the cameras panned away again.  Trainer Bob Harper was by her side, also looking shocked, who later admitted to E! Online, “I was stunned. We’ve never had a contestant weigh in at 105 pounds before.”

They weren’t the only ones who were shocked by the 5’4 23 year olds shocking weight loss.  After the ending of the show, over thirty thousand fans took to twitter to express their concerns for Frederickson’s health.  Many slandered her, calling her ‘too thin,” and “anorexic,” as well as posting pictures of the judges shocked faces to show that this was truly a shock to everyone.

School nurse Christine Haines explained that contestants are monitored the entire time by professionals.

“I think we need to remember that the biggest loser is a show that has doctors and trainers monitoring and checking on these contestants constantly.  Their workouts are altered to their specific health conditions and needs by their trainers, as well.  Therefore, it would be hard for this weight to have been lost in an unhealthy fashion.”

However, not all health professionals believe this is the case.  Health teacher and gym coach Heather Flaim was unsure about the health of Frederickson based on national health guidelines.

“Healthy weight loss consists of two pounds a week, this was obviously more than that.  We also have to consider the fact that she is under the national BMI.  As long as she can maintain this weight or a healthy weight she should be okay, but if she begins to yo-yo diet and her weight fluctuates she could face serious health problems,” Flaim said. ” Unfortunately from where I’m standing I am unaware of her health history and background, but with the information I have, I would say that this is probably unhealthy.”

The issue is not only the health of Frederickson but the health of young viewers.  Having a contestant walk out so unrealistically thin has viewers worried about the message that is being sent about standards of health and beauty.

As an adult or young adult it is hard to get that small let alone remain that small, and it is important to remember that healthy is not a number.  Being healthy consists of a number of things, including a persons’ heredity, body type, age, height, and weight.  It is imperative that we as human beings not let ourselves be influenced by the unrealistic portrayals in the media, love ourselves and our bodies, and do what is best for our own health as a whole.