U.S. cracks down on fad weight-loss powders, skin creams
Posted on January 7, 2014
(Reuters) – Americans putting their faith in so-called miracle cures
to shed unwanted pounds are bound to be disappointed, U.S. regulators
said on Tuesday in announcing settlements with four companies accused of
deceptively advertising such weight-loss products.
The Federal Trade Commission won agreements from L’Occitane, Inc.;
Sensa Products LLC; HCG Diet Direct LLC; and Leanspa LLC. The
settlements required them to drop unsubstantiated claims from their ads
and, in some cases, to return money to consumers.
The FTC also urged media outlets to scrutinize advertisements more carefully to avoid publishing
potentially misleading ads, noting that some of the advertisements for
the products – from food additives to skin creams – appeared in
mainstream publications.
The commission provided guidance for publishers and broadcasters on how to screen weight-loss claims in advertisements.
The only slim element of the products is their chance of success,
said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“Resolutions to lose weight are easy to make but hard to keep. And
the chances of being successful just by sprinkling something on your
food, rubbing cream on your thighs, or using a supplement are slim to
none,” Rich said.
Here is an extract from The Wake Up Call™ Part 2: Interviews with health professionals.Read on to find out what a GP has to say about this subject.
The Doctor.
Stephen: People are wanting a quick fix to lose
weight. It is getting more popular to take a pill thinking that will
solve all their problems. Can you explain this?
Dr: When we’re looking at weight control, a lot of
people would like to believe, and it’s just like going to Lotto. You
take your numbers and you hope that you’re going to win Lotto that
particular weekend and it’s the same with weight management if people
believe that one particular medication is going to reverse everything.
Weight management is a complex issue and there’s not easy road. If you
start to listen to that particular concept that it is not easy but it is
reversible with a lot of effort, you will have a successful outcome but
you have to be consistent. See a lot of people say – a snapshot – I’ll
do this for a little while – I’ve got a wedding to go to, I need to fit
into a particular dress, I’ve got to look good for my daughter or my
son and basically they’ll put in an effort and they’ll go to all of
these weight-reducing programs and they’ll spend heaps of money on
medications because there are medications that will help you. But all
of these particular programs, whilst you are pursuing it, the guarantee
is of course you will lose weight and that’s true whilst you pursue the
rules and you stick to the diet and you reduce your calorie input and
you increase your exercise output then you’re going to reduce your
weight. But the problem is like everyone which is a natural response,
after the wedding, the shackles come off, the complacency comes back in,
a lot of people go to their old habits, nibble here and nibbled there
and suddenly that magic program that they were involved in with a lot of
heart, sweat and dedication suddenly is all gone out the window and
people will put on weight again. Do you consider one tablet to do all
of this is false.
