The Big Crash Diet Experiment, review – a useful solution to all those tubby telly clichés

On TV right now, fat is the new thin. Broadcasters, especially the public-minded/do-gooding BBC (delete according to taste), can’t air enough programmes about “the obesity epidemic™”. All of them invariably involve “a groundbreaking experiment” and “leading experts”. Stir in some scene-setting shots of wobbly tummies, straining tape measures and overloaded bathroom scales. Garnish with close-ups of takeaways and sweet treats. Serve tepid. 

So it was with a heavy heart that I approached the latest entry in this ever-expanding genre, The Big Crash Diet Experiment (BBC One). To my surprise, it turned out to be tolerable – partly because it bucked against received wisdom, partly because it didn’t feature any crusading celebrity chefs finger-wagging at the public.

Ultra-low calorie crash diets have a bad reputation, no NHS backing and are, we were told, “the black sheep of the dieting world”. However, some experts believe it’s time for a rethink. The winningly warm Dr Javid Abdelmoneim investigated, aided by the government’s former adviser on obesity, Professor Susan Jebb. 

Naturally, there was a “bold, groundbreaking experiment”, which found four volunteers with serious weight-related health issues giving up real food for nine weeks to exist on soups, shakes and thin air. 

Not only did the quartet lose their target of two stone apiece but they all kept the weight off. Catholic priest Paul reversed his Type 2 diabetes. Tracy lost 16in from her waist and got her high blood pressure back in check. Secret binge-eater Yolande’s fatty liver was virtually cured. Takeaway addict Rebecca – who ate so many that she even got invited to her local kebab man’s wedding – conquered her fast food demons. There were tears, triumphs and new trousers all round. Done properly, it seemed, crash diets can work. 

At the end of the experiment, Abdelmoneim took the impressive results to NHS obesity tsar Professor Jonathan Valabhji. Could he persuaded? Valabhji admitted the findings were exciting, achieving more than double the weight-loss of current NHS-supervised diets. Yet he also said this radical solution was costly, time-consuming for GPs and that he needed more data. Typical politician’s answer. 

Still, this documentary was refreshingly direct and at least offered potential solutions, rather than the usual platitudes. I could even forgive it the tubby telly clichés.