Plymouth Family Physicians

January 2006 NEWSLETTER

JANUARY IS HEALTHY WEIGHT MONTH

Weight loss in the United States is a big business. The number one New Years resolution is to lose weight. You see countless commercials everyday on TV for numerous diets, pills, teas, creams, exercise equipment and tapes or DVD’s. With so much information out there it is hard to know where to start.

Most of the products are junk and do absolutely nothing for weight loss. The claims these companies make about the products they market are fraudulent. Weight loss fraud can be harmful in many ways. It increases the risk to your health because many of the products can cause injuries such as severe reactions and even death. Some people believe in these products so greatly they don’t receive adequate medical care.

These products are often very costly and are targeted to those who can least afford them such as the teens, the elderly and low-income consumers. It is estimated that Americans spend $10 to $40 billion in weight loss products a year.

Weight loss products add an emotional toil to the users also. Many people who try these products regain the weight soon after, giving them a sense of failure and lowers self esteem.

Our goal is to combat fraud by helping children and teens develop healthy attitudes toward diet and exercise. There are agencies to report fraud to. Here are some tips to help you recognize fraud.

Products that claim or imply fast or large weight loss. (Safe weight loss should not exceed an average of one pound per week)
Products that imply that you don’t need to restrict calories or don’t need to exercise.
Products that claim to be a treatment for a wide range of ailments and nutritional deficiencies as well as weight loss.
Programs that promote a medically unsupervised diet of less than 1000 calories per day.
Programs that diagnose nutrient deficiencies and prescribes vitamins and supplements in excess of the 100% of Recommended Dietary allowance. A daily multivitamin should be sufficient.
Programs that fail to state risks or recommend a medical exam.

You should also be wary of products containing some of these ingredients or drugs that could be potentially dangerous: spirulina, glucomannan, chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), starch blockers or chromium picolinate.

The Food and Drug Administration says it is illegal to make a claim for any ingredient, food supplement, or nonprescription drug that the product will alter or boost processes such as suppress appetite, or speed up metabolism or block digestion. The only allowed claim is appetite suppression for phenlyporpanolamine (PPA) and benzocaine only. Claims that ingredients will surround calories, starch, carbohydrate or fat and remove them from the body are also illegal drug claims.

If you feel you have been a victim of such fraud there are places you can go to file a complaint. The government won’t do anything about this until we let them know we are sick of being taken advantage of. Here are some contacts you can make:

Attorney General of Wisconsin: www.doj.state.wi.us

The Consumer Protection Agency: www.consumercounselgroup.com

The U. S. Federal Trade Commission
Correspondence Branch 6th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580
www.ftc.gov

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Consumer Affairs & Information
5600 Fishers Lane, HFC-110
Rockville MD 20852-9787
Hotline Telephone 1-800-238-7332
Consumer Affairs Telephone 301-443-5006
Fax: 1-800-344-3332
www.fda.gov

For products advertised or sent through the mail contact:
Postal Inspector
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
475 L Enfant Plaza West SW
Washington DC 20260-2175

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