Parents' Guide to

I Can Make You Thin

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Infomercial-like show offers healthy eating ideas.

TV TLC Reality TV 2008
I Can Make You Thin Poster Image

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Although McKenna's rules aren't particularly innovative, he uses them to encourage people to rethink their relationship with food and how and why they eat it. Interviews with frustrated dieters highlight some of the common reasons why people can't lose weight, like eating too fast and depriving themselves of meals. He also addresses some difficult weight-loss issues -- including emotional eating -- and offers concrete exercises designed to break these habits, as well as some mental tricks created to help dieters regain some control over their food consumption.

Although the series offers some sound advice, it frequently sounds more like an infomercial than a talk show. Although McKenna isn't selling any specific products, he's promoting the idea that he's making people skinny rather than simply offering them techniques on how to help themselves. His claim that losing weight is "easy" and his oversimplified explanations of how the mind and body process food sound similar to some diet pill commercials. And then there are the testimonials from his satisfied former clients. But for teens who understand that there are no quick fixes, the show offers some healthy, non-judgmental suggestions on how to approach weight loss.

TV Details

  • Premiere date: March 16, 2008
  • Cast: Paul McKenna
  • Network: TLC
  • Genre: Reality TV
  • TV rating: TV-PG
  • Last updated: February 24, 2022

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