Fat TV Is Ratings Heavyweight

As American waistlines continue to expand, a crop of fat-centric TV shows has emerged to cater to viewers who struggle with their weight, CNN reports. From NBC’s The Biggest Loser, to Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, Style’s Ruby, and Fox’s upcoming More to Love, networks have embraced plus-sized programming. Oxygen is the latest to score a hit, in Dance Your Ass Off.

Dance Your Ass Off, a competitive weight loss/dance show, has captivated audiences who empathize with its contestants’ struggles to overcome the psychological and physical pressures of being heavy. “People find the contestants so relatable,” says an Oxygen exec. “If you have 5 pounds to lose or you have 150 pounds to lose, it’s something you think about all day long.” (More obesity stories.)