A few weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged marketers for the Ab Circle Pro with making false claims, including that the device could cause “rapid and substantial weight loss.” Of course before this case, there were plenty of other sketchy products like Skechers toning shoes, Nivea My Silhouette! skin cream, and acai pills. And I guarantee more diet scams are out there.
So before you fall prey to these cleverly marketed bogus weight loss products, take a look at the following seven red flags. The FTC says it is almost always a diet scam if the product claims it will:
- Cause you to lose a lot of weight no matter what or how much you eat
- Cause you to lose two pounds or more a week for a month or longer without dieting or exercise
- Block the absorption of fat or calories so that you can lose a lot of weight
- Let you safely lose more than three pounds a week for more than four weeks
- Cause a lot of weight loss of everyone who uses it
- Cause you to lose weight permanently (even after you stop using it)
- Cause a lot of weight loss by wearing it on the body or rubbing it into the skin
I hope these help. And as always, be careful out there!
[Photo credit: stock.xchng]
So sad people still fall for this!
I know!!!
A local dermatologist’s aesthetic center advertises “cool sculpting.” What’s up with that??
Interesting – what is that???
Thanks for posting these 7 red flags. Unfortunately, the marketers are always coming up with different ways to relieve us of our money by making promises a product can’t live up to.
To Dr. J, I believe Cool Sculpting is an FDA regulated product, so I assume it works. I did see it demo’d on TV on a new program – an actress was getting it done just before the Emmy’s. Not saying that it’s miraculous or doesn’t have side affects though.
Sahar, we tend to believe claims for some of these products when they come from trusted brands or spokespeople. That’s when “knowing better” gets hard.
Yes, unfortunately that’s true.