Fat 2 Fit: Eat Anything, Don't Exercise, and Lose Weight? Right
Buyer beware. Anytime an ad claims you can lose weight without eating right and exercising, there's got to be a catch.
By: Carole Carson | Source: AARP.org | 2008-12-28
"Can 14 Million People Be Wrong?" That's how an advertisement in a weekly national publication opens the promotion of a weight-loss product. Laid out so the ad appears to be a newspaper article, the "author" cites studies by 1,200 doctors and scientists, along with quotes from celebrities who are likely paid for the sponsorship. The author assures readers they can eat as much and as often as they like, while losing weight. And exercise isn't necessary!
If the reader sends three, $30 checks dated for three consecutive months plus a $6 handling fee, he or she will receive a supply of weight-loss pills. What's in the magic pills? The 3,000 word article doesn't say, although readers are assured that they do not contain ephedrine and are not dangerous. A money-back guarantee seems to cinch the deal.
Too good to be true? You can bet on it. According to my local pharmacist, any person who ingests a drug without knowing its active ingredients and potential side effects is at risk, especially if the person has a health problem, high blood pressure, heart disease, a thyroid condition, is pregnant or breast-feeding, or at risk for a stroke. Even more dangerous, the consumer may be unaware that he or she even has these conditions.
"Lightening the wallet—not the bathroom scale" is what this promotion is about, according to the pharmacist. "Without any governmental regulation...these kinds of promotions exploit a person's desperate desire to lose weight and find easy solutions."
In the smallest, lightest print, the ad states the post-dated checks cannot be cancelled, and service fees will be added to returned checks. The advertiser counts on most people to throw the pills away when they don't work and forget about the post-dated checks. Others who try to cancel their checks will find service fees added to the original amounts of the checks on their bank statement. Ouch! And ouch again!
Until more protections are in place for consumers, "caveat emptor" or "let the buyer beware" would be more honest titles for this promotion.
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