Every day I seem to be bombarded with adverts that tell me how easily I can lose weight if I use certain ‘miracle’ products’, or how I could lower my chances of cancer or other illnesses by taking certain supplements or eating certain foods. These adverts and claims are especially prevalent on Facebook – especially in those localised ‘For Sale, Free or Wanted’ groups that have popped up everywhere. These groups can be quite scam ridden anyway, and you should always be wary when buying anything from them. Similar adverts can also be found on Amazon, in magazines, via online advertising on numerous websites, in salons and spas, and on the high street too.
I’m sure you’ve seen such adverts; ’Buy our tablets and lose 10lb’s in two weeks‘, ‘Young mothers health discovery that has the experts worried‘, ‘use these body wraps and drop a dress size in days!’, ‘One food trick they doctors don’t want you to know about’, ‘Try our shakes and drop 1 stone in just 1 month!’
Fake websites, misleading mailshots and dubious publications attempt to tap into the desire of many insecure women and men by offering a ‘quick fix’ to weight loss and weight related illness, yet if it seems too good to be true it’s because it is often just that.
These often fraudulent companies will use marketing techniques, dodgy science, fake images and false claims about how effective the product is for achieving rapid weight loss. You’ll see airbrushed or faked ‘before and after’ photographs of someone they claim has been successful. They’ll often provide false testimonials from non-existent ‘experts’, a free 14 – 30 day trial, a money-back guarantee or the chance to make money by using their product – which all turns out to be misleading or false.
The current Weight Loss trend is shrinking body wraps which are for sell from most Beauty Salons and Health Spas. You can also buy home kits, which are things I see pushed on the aforementioned ‘For Sale, Free or Wanted’ Facebook pages all the time.
The claim is that a process called Lipolysis will see the fat fall off of you, but as Dr Stephen O’Rahilly, the Director of the Metabolic Research Laboratories at Cambridge University pointed out in a Naked Scientists investigation into these products
Lipolysis which is the breakdown of triglycerides and fat to its constituent free fatty acids and glycerol is a highly controlled and sophisticated biochemical process, and no amount of wrapping will induce this to occur in the fat cells.
Secondly, if it didn’t work, it would actually be dangerous. The reason our bodies have all the fat cells was to make a relatively safe place to store excess energy and a place for much energy to be released during times when food is scarce. If we suddenly release a large amount of fat from our fat cells, it would have to go somewhere. We know this is very bad news because patients who, for genetic or other reasons can’t make adequate number of fat cells develop severe metabolic side effects including diabetes, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, all as a result of this toxic fat going somewhere where it shouldn’t be out of fat cells and into other tissues. So, not only is this idea nonsense, it’s potentially dangerous nonsense.
Some adverts – especially those about so-called ‘Super Foods’ or miracle supplements – often breach the Nutrition & Health Claims (England) Regulations 2007 which states products must not contain ’Health claims which make reference to the rate or amount of weight loss’, ‘Health claims which make reference to recommendations of individual doctors or health professionals‘, & ’claims based on new or emerging science and/or proprietary data needs to be accompanied by a dossier of information in support of the claim. European Food Safety Authority will assess this evidence and the Commission will take EFSA’s opinion into account when deciding whether the claim should be authorised.” [source].
The National Health Service ‘Live Well’ website has a great take down of some of the most popular Super Food myths that can be read by clicking here and points out the importance of a balanced diet. They state:
Many of us want to believe that eating a single fruit or vegetable containing a certain antioxidant will zap a diseased cell. The problem is that most research on superfoods tests chemicals and extracts in concentrations not found in the food in its natural state. Garlic, for example, contains a nutrient believed to help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. But you’d have to eat up to 28 cloves a day to match the doses used in the lab – something no researcher has yet been brave enough to try.
The pills, patches and potions on offer will often do nothing whatsoever, but in some cases could prove dangerous and detrimental to your overall health. It really pays to be switched on when it comes to the claims being made by those people offering weight loss and health products that seem to work instantly or without any effort on your part – or if they claim to only work in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.
Think you’ve been scammed?
If you give your credit or debit card details to people offering services or products like those mentioned above you run the risk of the fraudster making continuous payment requests to your card provider and continuing the supply of the product, as per their terms and conditions, which are usually hidden and may be difficult to understand. If you have given your card details, you must contact your card provider for advice as a matter of urgency. Don’t feel stupid or embarrassed because you’re not the only person to be tricked, and you’re not the one in the wrong here.
In reality, the best way to lose weight and to keep it off is to eat healthily and exercise moderately and there are very few supplements that will help with this process. If you are considering trying to lose weight or getting into shape it is really advisable that you speak to your doctor before doing so as they will be able to help you work out what does and doesn’t work.
TIP: When I personally assessed my diet and nutrition a few months ago I found the NHS ‘Change4Life’ and ‘Good Food’ websites really useful, making the switch to a more balanced diet easier than I thought it was going to be.
