Americans Fall Prey to Weight-Loss Supplement 'Hype'

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"The survey shows many Americans want to and will try to lose weight without a doctor's help and without a prescription medication," said investigator Saul Shiffman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. "To maximize their success, overweight Americans need to be informed about products that have been proven effective, and to use effective products and methods, to increase the effectiveness of Americans' dieting efforts, and improve their health and well-being."

On the same day and at the same meeting, leaders in the obesity field announced a national initiative to attack misleading advertising of weight loss diet supplements, publishing a White Paper call-to-action.

Richard Cleland, assistant director of the U.S. Federal Trade Commissions Division of Advertising Practices said, "This 'White Paper' announcement is a very important step in addressing the obesity epidemic, because what we need, and have been sorely lacking, in a multi-pronged approach to weight-loss fraud in the United States. The weight-loss fraud battle cannot be won by law enforcement alone. Consumers need to learn and to respond."

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"We stand for help not hype in the face of the global epidemic of obesity," said MRC Greenwood, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California at Davis and member of the newly launched Reality Initiative Council.

The national initiative calls for:

• Health-care professionals to teach patients about realistic weight loss goals and to discourage the use of untested and unproven diet products.
• Enforcement by governmental regulators of existing laws and regulations pertaining to products making unsubstantiated weight-loss claims.
• Communication by the media of potential consequences of use of unverified weight loss products.

"We choose to approach the obesity epidemic by first attacking something specific, the hype of weight-loss products that creates a climate of failure," said Greenwood. "And we believe that by keeping the effort closely targeted and working closely with researchers, clinicians and the media, we can produce concrete results and begin to save lives."

More information

There's more on obesity at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (www.naaso.org ).

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