Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued four more supplement and weight loss companies for deceptive advertising, including the high profile Sensa weight loss sprinkles case: burnthefatblog/the-truth-about-sensa.php The other products named in the FTC action included a Homeopathic HCG, a slimming skin cream and Lean Spa - a product that was selling acai and colon cleanse products on fake news websites. The colon cleanse, acai berry and HCG scams have been pet peeves of mine for years so I took great delight in seeing promoters of those products get slapped by the alphabet agencies again. When I looked into what the more recent phenomenon - Sensa weight loss sprinkles - was all about, my eyes rolled into the back of my head. Just sprinkle on your food and lose weight without dieting or exercise. I shared the story with some friends on social media and they had the same response: Weight loss sprinkles dont work? No kidding? Wow, what a surprise! Shocking! and this gem, Really? Next thing, youll be telling me theres no bigfoot! I laughed with appreciation for the sarcasm, but the truth is: 1. $360 million dollars in Sensa sales bilked from consumers - maybe if not from you, perhaps from your friends or family, is no laughing matter. Neither is the frustration and loss of hope that builds after every failed attempt at weight loss. 2. Deciphering advertising claims is NOT intuitive and its very easy to be fooled if you dont know how to put your emotions on hold and think critically, how to recognize scam red flags and how to look up scientific studies for yourself. Regarding the money, the FTC sued the Sensa company for $26 million for consumer refunds. What I want to know is why didnt they sue them for $360 million, plus a fine? Regarding the ad claims, all a company has to do is spin an intriguing hypothesis with some theoretical basis, and even if theres not a shred of evidence supporting the theory yet, they keep advertising, until the day the FTC comes along and shuts them down. In todays guest article, I invited Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (widely known on the internet as the doctor who actually lifts, among his other skills), to write a short post about how this tangled web of false claims was made and why it took so long for the FTC to act: burnthefatblog/the-truth-about-sensa.php
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:29:55 +0000
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