Playing to Our Vanity

To wonder is not to be entirely naive. The alternative, after all, is to accept a future in which the only answer for an out-of-shape body is a long, grim dose of leafy greens--and exercise. Or worse. "I sure don't know of any way to lose 100 pounds in five weeks, and keep it off," said Judith Stern, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine at UC Davis. "Except maybe amputation."

And so despite strong native skepticism, many consumers reserve a wisp of hope, and thereon hangs a $5-billion to $10-billion industry of body-shaping products, from supplements to new spa treatments. In recent years these products' claims--melt away pounds as you sleep; increase breast size; lose weight without changing your diet--have become bolder, and more frequent, say those who watch the industry. "There's been a dramatic increase in the amount of advertising and the number of products out there" in the last 10 years, said Rich Cleland, a senior attorney in the advertising division of the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces consumer protection laws prohibiting deceptive practices. Cleland attributes much of this increase to the explosive growth through the 1990s of the dietary supplement industry, which includes such things as herbs, vitamins and diet and nutrition products. Especially on the Internet, pitches for weight loss and body shaping products have adopted a scientific tone. In addition to the standard before-and-after pictures, testimonials and endorsements from unfamiliar doctors, many ads now include references to clinical studies, body mass indexes, bio-availability of nutrients and so on. "They have picked up all the same medical jargon you would get from a reputable medical source" such as the Mayo Clinic or the National Institutes of Health, said Stern.

Federal law prohibits companies from making false marketing claims about the health benefits of products. Companies can say a product "promotes" weight loss, for instance, but cannot claim that it prevents or cures a specific health condition. Companies are also not supposed to make health claims that are not substantiated by research, under penalty of settlements that can run into the millions of dollars.