Changes in Weight-Loss Ads
In comparing weight-loss ads from eight national magazines published in 1992 and 2001, the reviewers found that the use of testimonials and before-and-after photos had increased. The percentage of weight-loss ads using testimonials climbed from 12.5 percent in 1992 to 76 percent in 2001. Use of before-and-after photos increased from 12.5 percent to 48 percent.
Another difference noted was that dietary supplements comprised two-thirds of the weight-loss products advertised in 2001. In 1992, meal replacement products were the most commonly advertised product.
In addition, the number of times weight-loss ads appeared in the magazines more than doubled between 1992 and 2001, and the 2001 ads generally included more highly questionable claims.
Need for Critical Evaluation
The FTC’s report notes that deception in weight-loss advertising has worsened despite an “unprecedented level of FTC enforcement.” Since 1990, the FTC has brought more than 80 cases against advertisers for allegedly false and misleading weight-loss claims – more than half the total number filed since the FTC’s first weight-loss case in 1927.
The report calls on government agencies, trade associations, self-regulatory groups, the media, and consumers to consider how they might help reduce the incidence of misleading weight-loss ads.
For consumers, the study provides important information on how to spot deceptive weight-loss products and services, says Walter Gross, an attorney in the FTC’s Division of Enforcement and co-author of the study.
“Claims like ‘rapid weight loss,’ ‘no diet or exercise required,’ ‘eat whatever you want,’ and ‘take it off and keep it off’ are all ‘hot’ buttons advertisers use to get consumers to buy their products and services,” he says. “Knowing how to recognize these will help consumers make more informed choices.”
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