False Marketing

It must be so tempting for unscrupulous entrepreneurs:

Find an obscure weight loss product from somewhere overseas. Re-brand it. Hype it up. Create an infomercial. Make millions.

This time it's Slim Coffee. The claims are impressive: "Reduce appetite. Clinically tested. Lose 5 pounds per week". All from drinking coffee with a few supplements added (or so they say).

In 2004, an estimated 4.8 million Americans bought bogus weight-loss supplements, patches, creams or other products – making it the top rated scam according to the Federal Trade Commission. This is further proof that there is no shortage of charlatans out there preying on people’s desperation to lose weight.

I’m not exactly sure how they came up with the criteria for what constitutes a “scam”, but here are some red flags that people need to be wary of when it comes to sketchy weight loss products;

The Kimkins phenomenon has resided primarily within the confines of low-carb communities, but is starting to make its way into more mainstream media. It is a bizarre story of the quick rise and the tremendous fall from grace of an underground diet “guru”. Here’s the story;

It's rare to see an author targeted by the Federal Trade Commission. Unless his name happens to be Kevin Trudeau.

Trudeau's book "The Weight Loss Cure" has been misrepresented in a number of infomercials.

In reality, the Weight Loss Cure is complex and very difficult to follow.

Investigators in China are looking the marketing tactics of a company making weight loss patches. This comes at a time when food safety scares are beginning to affect Chinese exports.

The sellers of the weight loss patch claim that Chelsea Clinton "lost 12 kg (26.5 lb) in under a month":

Every time sciences finds a good correlation between food and health - a food manufacturer will try to isolate it and oversell it.

This is the case with oats. Oats are a great food - particularly for breakfast - but Quaker have taken it a bit too far calling their oats "The Cholesterol Hunter".

Positive testimonials are a major selling point for many diet pills and supplements. Can you really trust the authenticity of these gushing endorsements?

In the case of Metabo-Speed - the answer is no.

Blogger Jeff Kay has taken a few photos comparing fast food as advertised - with the actual item as served.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been caught in a shocking case of misleading advertising. GSK makes a juice drink called Ribena. The drink is popular in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Ribena has long been pushed as a "health" food for children. For years it has been advertised as being rich in Vitamin C. Two popular tag lines are "the unique Ribena Syrup taste with loads of vitamin C" and "The blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges".

Incredibly - the product actually has no detectable Vitamin C - and GSK have been telling lies for over 4 years.

Yet another weight loss infomercial, one on the Oxygen network called Amaze Rx has come under scrutiny. Amaze Rx is a meal replacement shake similar to a Slim Fast shake and the 30-minute infomercial suggests that you can lose large amounts of weight drinking them.

What wasn't made clear is that the before-and-after photos were taken of people who'd had lapband surgery!

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has hit 4 weight loss pill makers with some very hefty fines. The fines (in the millions of dollars) are for false advertising claims.

One of the most heavily commented posts on Diet-Blog was about LA Weight Loss and their underhanded sales tactics. Comments were overwhelmingly critical of this weight loss clinic (however there were some occasional positive testimonials).

LA Weight Loss has been caught out again - and must pay out $100,000 in refunds to misled customers.

Enviga ("the calorie burner") will be on shelves all over the US by January. Backed by the marketing muscle of Coca-cola and Nestle - expect this drink to be heavily advertised.

Enviga is being touted as a "negative calorie" drink - it contains no calories and yet claims to burn calories.

Is there any evidence for this?

Every day I have "friends" that email me. They say it's time to become fit and happy again, and to make your fat friends envy you.

It's spam, and it's about a diet pill called Anatrim, and it's driving me crazy.

All those endorsements and testimonies are true aren't they? Maybe some of them are, but - as NBC Dateline found out - a healthy dose of skepticism is required when watching an infomercial.

Finally the sorry saga has come to an end. Dr Phil McGraw's line of "Shape-Up" supplements became the subject of a class action lawsuit last year.

The claim has now been settled - to the tune of $10.5 million.

ZetaCap: "The World's First & Only Gastric Bypass Pill!". An outrageous claim - yet it hasn't stopped over 200,000 people from using the product.

Maybe that should be egg on his face.As the lawsuit against Dr Phil gathers momentum, some interesting information has come forward. Dr Phil apparently admitted he had "no expertise" in making the diet pills he endorsed. The Shape Up line of supplements (by CSA Nutraceuticals) were removed from sale during 2004.

While flicking through the TV channels, I had the misfortune to come across a fitness infomercial. Not just any infomercial - but a mini-epic flaunting one of those "6 pack abs" machines - namely the Ab King Pro. The commercial was a visual feast - sculpted physiques, smooth flawless tanned bodies, and, of course, rock hard abdominals.

How many times can you tell a story of weight loss?

The number of weight loss books that have been published is simply amazing. I have been privileged to have read (and been alerted to) a number of inspiring weight loss stories.

Writing is a great therapy. Many people who recover from (or triumph over) a major issue in their lives take great satisfaction in writing about it. And so they should - transforming yourself, and overcoming the challenges that come with it, is something to take pride in.

But then comes the marketing - and at this point even the most altruistic of motives can take a bruising. Many authors write their story, get it published, and often sell just a handful of copies. Some even give away their story hoping to inspire and encourage others.