Anyone who reads magazines, watches TV, or listens to the radio must have come across ads for a myriad of diet aids that promise effortless weight loss -- sometimes even while one sleeps -- no dieting or exercising required. Although we, and many others, have warned consumers that such products are bound to be scams, there are still plenty of them out there. And with the increasing prevalence of obesity in America, the market for such scams is surely growing. Now, however, the feds are stepping in to do something about the flood of frankly fraudulent products on the market and in advertisements everywhere.
On November 9 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency responsible for oversight of truth in advertising, announced their "Big Fat Lie" initiative that focuses on companies making bogus weight-loss claims in national advertising. Big Fat Lie is a national law-enforcement sweep that so far has been directed at thirteen companies alleged to have used one of seven bogus claims the FTC targeted in December 2003. The targeted ads include ones making false claims about products such as pills, powders, potions, green tea, topical gels, diet patches, and even special earrings. Companies making these claims, according to the complaints filed by the FTC, did not have adequate substantiation to back them up.
The FTC is doing more than just going after these companies. It also launched a media education campaign to help various outlets spot fraudulent claims. In addition, it is also mounting a much-needed similar campaign to educate consumers about these misleading ads that ultimately help them lose money more than excess fat. As part of this latter endeavor, the agency has set up a so-called "teaser site." This site advertises a weight-loss aid supposedly derived from eggplant -- "auberginium" -- that helps people lose up to two pounds per day with no sweat and no dieting. Visitors to the site who fill out and submit a questionnaire are immediately taken to a page that explains just how fraudulent each of the site's claims really are.
Here's to the FTC, and let's wish that agency well in its attempts to quash the plague of fraudulent ads for weight-loss gimmicks.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., is Director of Nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health.
