More than half of the dietary supplement ads reviewed in a recent study by Federal Trade Commission staff claimed to produce weight loss without a reduction in caloric intake or increased physical activity, according to an FTC report released Sept. 17.

The report, entitled "Weight-Loss Advertising: An Analysis of Current Trends," notes other frequent claims for supplements were for "fast results" (60%), are based on testimonials (59%) and promise "guaranteed results" (59%). Fifty-three percent of supplement ads claimed products were "clinically proven" to work.

The report is based on a review of 300 recent ads from a variety of media in a nonrandom sample.

The ads were disseminated during the first half of 2001 and most were collected from newspapers/fre-standing inserts and magazines, followed by the Internet, commercial email and direct mail.

The vast majority of the ads were for dietary supplements (52%), followed by meal replacements (11%), hypnosis (9%) and diet plans or programs (7%).

Forty-nine percent of the ads for supplements disclosed the product's "active" ingredients, FTC reports. Of those that identified product content, the most common ingredients were ephedra, chitosan and chromium.

Over 40% of all ads reviewed contained claims that the advertised products or services are safe, FTC says. And 71% of ads with safety claims also made "all natural" statements such as "100% natural with no side effects" or "lose weight in an easy way that is natural and won't hurt your body."

The commission notes 48% of the ads that identified ephedra as an ingredient included a safety claim. At the same time, slightly more than half of those ads also carried a specific warning about the health risks of ephedra, FTC says.

Only 30% of all ads that identified ephedra as an ingredient included a specific health warning about its potential adverse effects, FTC points out.

Over 50% of the ads reviewed by the commission "made at least one representation that...at very least lacks adequate substantiation," FTC says.

In addition, approximately 40% contained "at least one representation that almost certainly is false," the agency states.

The frequency of weight-loss advertising in magazines over the past decade has more than doubled due to the "explosion in the number of dietary supplement products now being promoted for weight loss," FTC reports.

A comparison of ads disseminated in 1992 in eight national magazines with ads appearing in 2001 in the same publications showed "the type of weight-loss products and services dramatically shifted from meal replacement (57%) in 1992 to dietary supplements (66%) in 2001," according to the report.

FTC also points out although both the 1992 and 2001 examples include "almost certainly false claims," the 2001 ads "appear much more likely to make specific performance promises that are misleading."

Magazines selected for review included: Family Circle, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Glamour, McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, Self and Redbook.

The "appearance of these ads in what appear to be reputable publications may increase the credibility of the promotions and serve to overcome or reduce consumer skepticism," FTC suggests, adding, "it is apparent that most media make little or no attempt to screen questionable ads for weight-loss products."

The proliferation of deceptive weight-loss ads has proceeded "in the face of, and in spite of, an unprecedented level of FTC enforcement activity, including the filing of more than 80 cases during the last decade," the report states. Roughly 35 of those cases involved supplement products.

Acknowledging the past efforts of FTC and others to "encourage the adoption of media screening standards have been largely unsuccessful," the commission maintains "the adoption and enforcement of standards would reduce the amount of blatantly deceptive advertising disseminated to consumers."

Supplements Claim Weight Loss Without Diet, Exercise In 55% Of FTC Sample

More from Archive

More from Pink Sheet