Contestants on The Biggest Loser, one of many weight loss reality TV shows.

Brendan Borrell, a Los Angeles Times reporter, was doing an article on weight loss reality shows and found SocialWorkersSpeak.org had already assembled a panel of social workers to talk about that issue (click here to read their discussion).

So he picked one of our panelists, National Association of Social Workers member Lorette Lavine, to talk about the pro side of weight loss reality shows.  Lavine is a social worker at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, a nurse, adjunct instructor at the Loyola University School of Social Work, and adjunct faculty member at the university.

On the con side was Lynn Grefe, chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Association.

To read the full Los Angeles Times article click here.

Lorette Lavine

Lavine’s interview is an example of one thing NASW is trying to accomplish through SocialWorkersSpeak.org. That is to position social workers as experts who can comment on media and entertainment industry trends. Lorette, thanks for your great work on the behalf of social workers!

To learn more about how social workers help clients improve their health, click here to visit NASW’s Help Starts Here Healthy Lifestyles Web page. And did you know one of the most well known contestants on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is social worker Shay Sorrells. To read her interview on SocialWorkersSpeak.org, click here.

Lynn Grefe is the chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Assn

Lorette Lavine is a nurse and clinical social worker who treats obese patients in the dialysis center at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.