Sharon Cuneta opens up on her weight problem

Sharon Cuneta admits that her weight problem limits her choice of roles on television and in the movies. The Megastar made that candid comment on last Sunday's ABS-CBN special, "Bigating Pinoy: The Biggest Loser Primer." As everyone knows by now, she is hosting the Philippine edition of "The Biggest Loser," a game show that features overweight and obese participants competing to lose weight through diet and exercise.

She adds, "Some people have judged me unfairly because of my weight. Pero pag inisip mo, may katwiran naman sila. I started as a leading lady. Mga love stories. That's how the audience, my fans, came to love me. Mas matagal ang panahon ko sa show business na payat ako. Now that I've gained weight, it really affects me. It limits my choice of roles. I want to do love stories pero hindi pa puwede. I have to wait. Siyempre gusto mo naman mukha kang leading lady."

Shawie gets hurt when people comment about her figure ("Tao lang ako, ano?") but when she analyzes the situation, she realizes "Sanay kasi sila na kalahati lang ako ng aking size ngayon. You have to understand where they're coming from. They expect you as a show biz figure to look a certain way. I work in a very visual medium."

Sharon promises to do something about her problem. "I'm getting back to my old figure. I'm kinder to myself. I'm giving myself the time that my body needs, hindi yung nagmamadali ako na pag nag-rebound, tataba na naman ako."

Those lines sound familiar. When I interviewed her a year ago, that's also what she told me. I hope she's serious this time about losing weight because her fans, this one included, miss her presence on the big screen as the female lead.. Maybe Shawie shouldn't be too kind to herself.

One success story that the Megastar can get inspiration from is that of Jennifer Hudson, a singer and actress like her. Jennifer, an alumna of "American Idol" who won an Oscar for "Dream Girls" and a Grammy for her debut album deserves another award for her successful weight loss program. From a size 16, she is now a size 6 and looked gorgeous when she guested recently on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

The mechanics of the contest were not explained on the primer. Instead, the show concentrated on exploring the problem of obesity in the country where 27 out of every 100 Filipinos are considered obese. A person is considered overweight if he has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 to 30 and obese if his BMI is above 30.

The show presented case studies of individuals with serious weight problems. Seven-year old Karl Caimo is a child star who appears regularly on "Going Bulilit." He uses his chubby figure as an asset in generating laughter. At home, his family finds him cute and huggable and does not look at the downside of his extra pounds. Alvin, 20, has already been rejected countless times after he is interviewed by prospective employers. Lorie, 33, is finding it hard to get pregnant because of her obesity. In contrast, Rowena, 40, has six children but is embarrassed to be seen with her daughter in school because her classmates might tease her. Then, there's Reinnier, 25, who has already bought a funeral plan because he is sure that death is imminent.

It was only in the last few minutes of the primer when the 12 participants were introduced. They were chosen after nationwide auditions that ran for seven months. They come from all walks of life. The group includes a volunteer fireman, an architect, restaurant owners, a fish vendor, an encoder, a housewife, a sales person, and nurses. The youngest is 18 years old while the oldest is 40. Four come from Metro Manila, one from Pampanga and one from the Bicol region. The others are based in Cebu, Negros Occidental and Bukidnon.

We'll get to know them better next Sunday at 9:45 p.m. on the Kapamilya Network.