By Emily Miller
In an effort to better serve the U.S. population, the Federal Trade Commission recently announced that stronger guidelines will be put in place to help combat the use of deceptive and misleading weight-loss advertising claims.
Fraudulent weight-loss products cost consumers millions of dollar each year, which leaves them with not only a monetary loss but also discouraged by the lack of results.
“Every time a con artist is able to place an ad for a bogus weight loss product on a television or radio station, in a newspaper or magazine, or on a legitimate website, it undermines the credibility of advertising and does incalculable damage to the reputation for accuracy that broadcasters and publishers work hard to earn,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s consumer protection bureau.
To help protect consumers and publications’ reputation for accuracy, the FTC has created a new online tutorial designed especially to help advertising officials identify seven key weight-loss marketing claims that evidence show are never true.
They even created a teaser website designed to target people who are surfing online for weight-loss products. The website features the fake product “FatFoe” that guarantees fast, easy weight loss for all users, with no diet or exercise necessary to lose up to 10 pounds per week permanently.
When, in reality, the claims made for “FatFoe” are almost completely false or misleading. When consumers try to order the product, they will learn that the ad is a warning from the FTC about diet rip-offs.
Consumers also need to recognize that when they buy fad diet products, they are wasting money and delaying making important changes to one’s diet and exercise, said Rich.
In fact, the FTC has provided tips on their website for consumers who are considering health and weight loss products.
“We want consumers to learn to recognize tell tale signs of a rip off,” said Rich.
Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year’s resolution, but also one of the more difficult resolutions to achieve. But, with proper guidance and accurate information, it is not impossible.
Another benefit of losing weight is the possibility of qualifying for a lower health insurance premium.
