Do Weight Loss Supplements Really Work? Diabetics Are Highly Invested in Weight Loss Success

Recent FTC fines on well-known brands highlight the need for close consumer scrutiny.

The Federal Trade Commission has stated that celebrity endorsements and empty product claims will result in substantial fines for weight loss manufacturers. Consumers, particularly diabetics, need to closely scrutinize claims and find products that are science, not celebrity endorsed. Here’s how.

Chicago, Illinois, January 18, 2007.
“Be envied.” That’s the tagline found in advertisements for TrimSpa, the Anna Nicole Simpson-endorsed weight loss supplement.

“Be careful” might be a more appropriate description, as the makers of this product were recently cited by the Federal Trade Commission for lacking “scientific” substantiation of their claims.

And Ms. Simpson has long ago admitted that her miraculous weight loss results came from a laxative, instead of $48 a month TrimSpa habit.

So how does a consumer, seeking weight loss help, find a product that really will help them shed their health-threatening pounds?

It’s not easy.

Clever marketers, such as TrimSpa (made by the same company that brought you ephedera-based diet supplements), gloss over a number of facts in their expensive advertising campaigns.

Fact #1 is there is no substitute for science. Real science. The kind conducted at independent, reputable institutions like Harvard, UC Berkeley, Georgetown University and others, that refuse to act as shills for ethically-challenged corporations. TrimSpa didn’t have any. That’s why they were fined. Companies that can back their weight loss claims will proudly display the results.

Fact #2 is the consumer needs to verify that the science-based benefits get properly transferred to the bottle. Even when active ingredients are scientifically verified as effective (such as ChromeMate, Clinical Strength Citrimax and others), some manufacturers water down the ingredients, rendering scientifically proven effective ingredients ineffective. It helps increase their profit statement, but has little effect in reducing your waistline.

Fact #3 is that no matter how good the science is, you will still need to do some diet and exercising. There is extensive evidence that some over-the-counter products will definitely help you reduce weight, but even these products require that the user get off the couch and get move around, on a regular basis. These proven products can accelerate results (for example, some clinical research clearly shows that the active ingredients provide three times the weight loss results of diet and exercise alone). But hard science also shows that no pill alone will help you drop excessive weight.

These are important issues to diabetics. In published research The New England Journal of Medicine found that 9 out of 10 cases of type 2 diabetics could be prevented with more exercise, eating better, stopping smoking and of course, the most important risk factor was being overweight. The serious side is avoiding the risk of: early death, blindness, liver/kidney failure, heart attack, high blood pressure and a host of degenerative diseases.

So consumers need to be wary of clever claims such as “Be envied”.

And they need to “Be careful” choosing a supplement.

By Robert Tracy


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