Ellie Krieger explodes the myth and stereotype of supermodel-as-airhead, retiring from an extremely successful career with iconic Wilhelmina Cooper to earn degrees at Cornell and Columbia. Charismatic and obviously comfortable before the cameras, Krieger hosts "Healthy Appetite" on the Food Network. On "Healthy Appetite," Krieger advocates nothing advanced, nor does she introduce anything extreme. In fact, of all the cooking and nutrition shows with large audiences, "Healthy Appetite" certainly deserves distinction as the one most in touch with the way American families really live. Krieger specializes in healthy recipes for the real world, and she also offers effective strategies for eating low-calorie nutritious meals in the most challenging situations"”restaurants, at the office, at parties, and on vacation. Not surprisingly, "Healthy Appetite" numbers among First Lady Michelle Obama's favorites; and, in the fall of 2009, Krieger led the list of luminaries who contributed to the first-ever Healthy Kids Fair at the White House. Krieger subsequently testified before the House Committee on Agriculture about nutrition, healthy eating and the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.

Guaranteed to make you weep, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" sends a team of exceptionally skilled designers and builders along with a whole bunch of community volunteers to tear-down and rebuild a home for a family in dire straits. The crew completes the radical renovation in just seven days, usually working day and night while the troubled family vacations at DisneyWorld, Orlando. Not a coincidence as the show airs on ABC, a Disney company. The weeping doesn't start until the building is done, but each episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" shows a family that has struggled so valiantly against so much hardship viewers cannot help sobbing through a whole box of Kleenex as the family discovers the wonders the builders have worked. In some cases, workers from the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew rescue homes from the brink of condemnation; in others, they add second stories or triple the square footage. They always add hundreds of thoughtful personal touches. Of course, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" changes lives by transforming houses. Especially the children's expressions of gratitude for the changes melt even the coldest hearts. Tissues sold separately.

When fitness "guru" Chris Powell takes control and guides her volunteers who have an extreme need to lose weight everyone wins! As with the original concept there will be a complete and total lifestyle change only this time around the main effort is placed on weight loss. This takes place over a period of one year and the results are very positive and obvious once the contestants have plastic surgery performed to help in the removal of all that excess skin that comes from gaining a tremendous amount of weight. Those with an especially difficult weight problem must volunteer and agree to follow the program that will enable them to be successful and lose the pounds that they have struggled with over many years. Being overweight often has psychological issues involved even more than simply over eating so many areas must be covered before success can be realized. Chris Powell knows how to work with a wide assortment of problems faced by those who must lose weight or they endanger their health. Watch Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and cheer them on their extreme makeover.

Basic cable and "reality" programming thrive on American's well-established predilection for all things paranormally creepy; phantom-hunting shows proliferate like bugs in damp places. The dazzling success of "Intervention" TV series and its spin-offs demonstrates they also have an insatiable appetite for other people's behavioral disorders. A&E network innocently claims, "'Intervention' raises awareness about the alternatives and treatment options available to those who suffer from an alcohol or drug addiction, and gives hope to families who have nowhere left to turn." Viewers more honestly explain "Intervention" vividly, realistically shows the horrors of drug addiction and codependency. The show makes perfectly and painfully clear how addicts and their families suffer with the symptoms and consequences of chemical and alcohol dependency. At the end of each hour-long horror show, "Intervention" shows a family and either Jeff VanVonderen or Candy Finnigan, highly trained and experienced psychotherapists, staging an intervention with their chemically dependent loved-one. Most episodes show addicts agreeing to enter treatment, but the producers of "Intervention" TV show make it abundantly clear that no one is guaranteed a happy ending.

Tyra Banks sure knows how to get them talking! Her style and warmth blend in with the "talk show theme" quite well and she brings out the opinions of her audience even as she expresses her own. A recent show was themed around fierce women, particularly the single ones. Seems like women today feel pressured to get that ring on their finger in order to feel "complete" yet many of the singles love their lives as they are. And women who simply do not wish to have children? Well there are plenty of them out there also. No subject is taboo on the Tyra's show and she proves it by discussing discrimination, sexuality, as well as racial issues and even obesity. These are issues that should not be a problem in this modern society yet they're still around and remain problematic for many. Being overweight is extremely common today and discrimination is an issue that will endlessly haunt them. Society and how to live in it always makes for good TV and the questions never stop being interesting and thought provoking on The Tyra Banks Show.

Ruby TV show is a documentary style reality television series on the Style Network that debuted in 2008 in the United States. This inspirational TV show gives viewers an intimate look inside the life of Ruby Gettinger, a woman struggling against life-threatening obesity. Ruby starts the show weighing more than 477 lbs (she originally weighed over 700 lbs.) Ruby works with nutritionists, doctors, and trainers to lose weight, all the while commenting honestly and often humorously about the experience. The show also deals with the every-day life issues a morbidly obese person can face, such as the difficulty in using airplane bathrooms.