Wt Loss Frauds

[Guest guest]

Quick fixes feed obesity rate

Misinformed consumers rely on unproven weight-loss

products, a new survey

says.

By Shari Roan, Times Staff Writer

October 30, 2006

The nation's soaring obesity rates won't fall until

Americans stop placing

their faith in unproven and possibly fraudulent

weight-loss products and

treatments. That's the message from some of the

nation's top obesity experts,

commenting on new data about Americans' continued,

naïve hope for the quick fix.

Part of the problem, they say, is consumers'

misconceptions about safety

laws. A national survey released last week at the

annual meeting of the Obesity

Society, a scientific group dedicated to the study of

obesity, found that 60%

of Americans believe incorrectly that over-the-counter

dietary supplements

for weight loss are required to have been tested and

proven to be safe and

effective. More than half mistakenly believed that

these products are reviewed

and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

(http://ad.doublecli ck.net/click; h=v8/348f/

3/0_/*/d;52446072 ;0-0;0;12926820; 4307-300/

250;18635467/ 18653362/ 1;;~sscs= ?http://altfarm.

mediaplex. com/ad/ck/ 1551

-37064-1944- 6?mpt=838995)

(http://ad.doublecli ck.net/jump/ trb.latimes/

feature/health; ptype=s;rg= r;zc=92506; tile=4;sz=

300x250;ord= 62572054)

But the 1994 passage of the Dietary Supplement Health

and Education Act

amended laws so that dietary supplements are no longer

subject to pre-market

safety evaluations.

A group of obesity experts, who have formed a

consortium called the Reality

Council to promote a realistic approach to weight

loss, released their

comments in conjunction with the report and held a

subsequent news conference as

well.

They contend that the nation's weight problem —

two-thirds of U.S. adults

are overweight or obese — is exacerbated by the

scores of weight-loss products

and treatments on the market that make unsubstantiated

claims.

" These products raise false hopes and take a

substantial amount of resources

from the individuals who buy these products, " said

M.R.C. Greenwood, an

obesity researcher at UC and a member of the

consortium. " People buy these

products rather than go into programs that do work. "

Greenwood spoke at a news conference Wednesday in the

meeting's wake.

The consortium says doctors, the media, businesses,

consumers and lawmakers

should support efforts by the Federal Trade Commission

to halt misleading

advertising linked to many weight-loss products.

In 2002, the FTC launched an initiative to identify

false advertising claims

on weight-loss products, such as those promoting two

pounds or more a week

of weight loss without cutting calories or those that

say products can be worn

or rubbed into the skin to reduce weight.

The program is a step up from what was available 10

years ago in terms of

enforcement efforts, said Dr. Blackburn, an

associate professor of

nutrition at Harvard Medical School. " It is having an

effect. "

A list of weight-loss products identified by the FTC

for making misleading

claims can be found on its website at

_http://www.ftc. gov/bcp/conline/ edcams/ojo/

cases_health. htmweight_

(http://www.ftc. gov/bcp/conline/ edcams/ojo/

cases_health. htmweight) .

The use of unproven products is a problem throughout

the healthcare

industry, Greenwood said. But, she said, misleading

weight-loss products seem to

generate less public scorn.

" If this was any other type of epidemic costing

hundreds of billions of

dollars, such as cancer or AIDS, and these types of

products were being sold and

consumed, the public would be outraged, " she said.

" But victims of obesity

blame themselves or are portrayed in such a way that

the general public doesn't

have much sympathy for them. "

The survey on Americans' knowledge of weight-loss

products reinforces the

picture of people looking for a quick and easy way to

lose lots of weight and

improve their appearance.

Fewer than one-third of those surveyed consulted a

doctor in their attempt

to lose weight — a measure that could help them

avoid unproven products and

approaches. One-third used " potentially unproven "

products.

Many Americans repeatedly try and fail at programs

that also encourage

unrealistic expectations, Blackburn said.

Those surveyed had made an average of 15 serious

attempts to lose weight.

Many expressed disappointment at not meeting their

weight-loss goals but did

not adjust their expectations to be more realistic in

the future.

The survey randomly polled 3,500 Americans and was

conducted by the

University of Connecticut' s Center for Survey

Research and Analysis, the University

of Pennsylvania' s Center for Weight and Eating

Disorders and GlaxoKline

Consumer Healthcare.

" Many of the people who take these products are the

most vulnerable ones, "

said Greenwood. " They are at high risk or are already

overweight. They need to

be in a program to help them understand that even

modest weight loss will

help them. "