Kai Hibbard (born August 23, 1978) is an American activist, social worker, writer, and former reality TV participant, who spoke out about the negative ways in which appearing on The Biggest Loser affected her physical and mental health, along with highlighting the research that shows it also negatively affects viewers. She is a published academic researcher, has been published on XOJane and her Cracked article inspired an off Broadway play, Taught. She has written a fictional account of weight loss reality television, that she self-published in December 2017, and speaks at conferences on the topics of body acceptance, mental health, and weight loss reality television.
Personal life
Kai Hibbard was born in 1978 in Kodiak, Alaska to Audrey Aflague, a nurse of Chamorro heritage and Lawrence Hibbard, a member of the United States Coast Guard, the second of the couple's three daughters. She went to college for her undergraduate education in Hawaii and Alaska. After completing her undergraduate work, she worked as an aerobics instructor, a child protective services worker for the State of Alaska, and a law office assistant. In 2006 she was awarded a full scholarship to University of Maine Law School. She is married and has a young autistic son.
Professional life
In August 2011, Hibbard joined the Alaska Army National Guard and was subsequently discharged in 2014 after breaking her pelvis and her right foot while on active duty at Fort Benning. In November 2015, continuing with body acceptance activism both online and in person, Hibbard was a featured speaker at the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) national conference addressing the positive effects body acceptance has on physical and mental health along with her personal journey into activism and social work in the aftermath of reality television.
In 2016, she was the keynote speaker for the East Coast Body Positive Fitness Alliance conference in Boston and executive produced the off Broadway play Taught. In addition, she appeared throughout 2016 as an expert voice and body acceptance activist for CNN HLN.
Given an opportunity to recount her experiences in writing in addition to speaking engagements, she penned a piece for XoJane in January 2015 with academic citations detailing her reflections and education on her experiences on weight loss reality TV.
In December 2018, Hibbard published her first "Losing It: A Fictional Reimagining of my Time on Weight Loss Reality TV", a fictionalized version of her time on weight loss reality TV.
Academic career
Hibbard graduated with honors from University of Alaska Anchorage with a BA in Justice, a BA in Psychology and a minor in English. She was accepted to the University of Maine Law School but chose instead to pursue an MSW at University of Alaska Anchorage; she then took a leave of absence in 2008 to start a family and join the Alaska Army National Guard. In 2016 Hibbard was contacted by a professor, Darren D. Moore, Ph.D., LMFT from Mercer University School of Medicine, department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, now with Alliant International University, Couple and Family Therapy Program about research regarding the experience of significant weight loss and the psychological effects of participating in weight loss reality television. She became a member of the research team, and completed qualitative research published March 2017 and again in April 2018 in The Qualitative Report under her married name Zwierstra. In 2018, she completed a MSW at the University of New England and is now a licensed LMSW in the state of MD.