Biggest Loser contest: Even the playing field

[lcato]

I am in a weight losing contest at my office and one of the participants weighed 260lbs, one 200lbs, one 170lbs, one 155lbs and one 140lbs. How do we even the playing field mathematically so that the 260lbs person is not the winner each week?

 

[MarkFL]

I would rate each loss as a percentage of the beginning weight for each week. It is certainly unfair to use the absolute weight loss as the sole determining factor.

If for each week b is the beginning weight and e is the ending weight, then for person n compute the percentage lost L with:

\(\displaystyle L_n=\dfrac{100(b_n-e_n)}{b_n}\)

Then the person for whom \(\displaystyle L_n\) is the greatest is the winner.

 

[daon2]

It is much harder for slimmer people to lose pounds of weight. So I would have to disagree with the contest guidelines and you use body-fat percentage rather than weight. This will encourage, along with a diet rich in protein, the use of resistance training to add, or at least retain, lean body mass -- muscle (which will help accelerate fat loss). Many who attempt "weight loss" end up losing a lot of muscle and actually becomeunhealthier.


Note that considering weight as the variable here is also terrible because of water retention. I can lose 15lbs in just one week with the use of diuretics and watching my carbohydrate and sodium intake and still be just as "fat" as I was in the beginning. The 260lber can likely lose 20-25lbs of weight in a week using the same method without breaking a sweat, whereas the 140lber would be lucky to shed 10. it is an unfair metric.