FTC issues list of bogus weight-loss claims

Last Updated: 2003-12-09 14:01:51 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday escalated its campaign against phony weight-loss advertising, issuing a list of false claims that it said should be banned by the media.

The FTC outlined seven claims most commonly made by purveyors of bogus weight-loss products and prodded media outlets to avoid them for the sake of public health.

"Unfortunately, there are way too many ads for scientifically impossible weight-loss products in the popular media," FTC Chairman Timothy Muris said. "The media should institute screening programs to 'red flag' deceitful weight-loss ads and refuse to run them."

The seven "red flag" claims all hold out the promise that potential customers can lose weight quickly without exercising or cutting back on eating, sometimes through unorthodox means such as creams or wraps.

Muris said he had met with media executives and trade associations to make the case that they should voluntarily refuse such ads.

He said associations representing U.S. newspapers, magazine publishers, broadcasters and cable TV operators had all agreed to make the list available to their members.

The agency also issued a 35-page report that concluded losing weight by using creams, wraps, devices and patches is "not scientifically feasible."

Since 1990, the FTC has brought scores of cases against marketers of fraudulent weight loss products, and some media outlets already screen out advertisements that contain false claims.

The FTC's proposal has been greeted cautiously by media trade organizations and some media executives. They fear that screening the ads would compromise free-speech rights, and that the FTC's stance could open them up to lawsuits by disgruntled consumers.

But Muris said it's often in the media's interest to reject the phony ads because the companies that make them sometimes skip out on their bills. In one case, he said, a weight-loss company stuck one radio network with a $10 million unpaid bill.



http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...209elin015.html

The full report can be found at the US Federal Trade Commission's website .. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/weightlossrpt.htm

Media Guidance

The centerpiece of the FTC campaign is educational guidance to the media that identifies seven common weight-loss claims made for products available over-the-counter, including nonprescription drugs, dietary supplements, creams, wraps, devices, and patches that are scientifically infeasible at the current time. These claims include:

• Causes weight loss of two pounds or more a week for a month, or more without dieting or exercise.
• Causes substantial weight loss, no matter what or how much the consumer eats.
• Causes permanent weight loss (even when the consumer stops using the product).
• Blocks the absorption of fat or calories to enable consumers to lose substantial weight.
• Safely enables consumers to lose more than three pounds per week for more than four weeks.
• Causes substantial weight loss for all users.
• Causes substantial weight loss by wearing it on the body or rubbing it into the skin.

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>>"Blocks the absorption of fat or calories to enable consumers to lose substantial weight."

They forgot carbs.

Carbs [except fiber] contribute Calories...So, if they claim it blocks Carbs, then they're also claiming it blocks the Calories in them. There is one part on that list where it says they can't claim users can safely lose more than 3 pounds a week for more than 4 weeks. While, it may not be the case for everyone, I lost 3.5 pounds a week [safely] for my first few months on Atkins. In fact, I lost 5 pounds in my 3rd week. I didn't weigh until my 3rd week, so I may have lost even greater amounts in the first 2 weeks.

As for the feasibility of losing 3 pounds a week continuously, it is entirely feasible. It requires a 1,500 kcal/day deficit. If you are very large and burn close to 3,000 kcal/day, cutting back to 1,500 kcal [with no change in macronutrient composition] even with ZERO exercise will result in a 3 pound/week loss. If you up your percentage of fat, and start excercising at the same time it is entirely possible to safely lose 3 pounds a week for a period of months.

The reason 1-2 pounds is considered the maximum safe weight loss is because they are assuming that loss is achieved simply by Caloric restriction. To lose 1 pound a week, the theory is you need to be in a 500 kcal/day deficit; 2 pounds requires a 1,000 kcal/day deficit. If your BMR is let's say 2,500 kcal...cutting your Calories to a level that would allow weight loss [simply via Caloric restriction] greater than 2 pounds per week, would require you to eat a level of Calories is too low. If your BMR is less than 2,500 even 2 pounds a week simply by Caloric restriction is unsafe.

Adding exercise can also increase weight loss...But, in general, getting people to do enough exercise to lose even 1 more pound a week without further restricting Calories is close to impossible. 30 minutes to 1 hour a day [EVERY DAY] of exercise is needed to lose an additional pound a week, according to the Calorie theory.

Basically, all this means is that on a Low-Fat/Low-Calorie diet, weight loss greater than 1-2 pounds/week is unsafe...This cannot be applied to diets that work by means other than Caloric restriction, such as Atkins, which also increases Metabolism [because breaking fat down into Ketones requires Calories be expended] and decreases the amount of fat that is stored to near zero. 1g of Ketone in your urine, sweat, or breath represents 13 Calories no longer available to your body. 4 were expended making the Ketone, and the Ketone itself would have contributed 9, had it not been excreted.

It's about time! How many of us sane dieters have "just once " bought into these scams and lost alot of money and hope along the way??? And it goes beyond just the money loss, alot of dangerous "natural" supplements have been floating around for far to long!

I dunno but I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing.

I guess it should be good but I dont believe it and I think there is some type of hidden agenda there.

who knows.

hopefully its all done with good intentions, but I find that hard to believe.