Americans Fall Prey to Weight-Loss Supplement 'Hype'
November 6, 2006
American adults think weight-loss supplements are safer
and more effective than they actually are, researchers
report in a new national survey.
More than 60 percent of the 1,444 telephone respondents, all of whom had made significant efforts to lose weight, mistakenly said that such supplements have been tested and are proven to be safe (65 percent) and effective (63 percent).
Over half (54 percent) wrongly stated that such supplements are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"FDA-approved drugs for weight
loss have gone through years of testing with thousands
of patients to prove that they are safe and effective.
Supplements have not," said Thomas Wadden, president
of North American Association for the Study of Obesity-The
Obesity Society. "And this survey sounds the alarm that
most Americans have the wrong idea about the safety
and efficacy of these supplements."
There are currently no over-the-counter drugs for weight loss approved by the FDA.
The survey, conducted by the University of Connecticut's
Center for Survey Research & Analysis (CSRA), was
presented this week at the Obesity Society's annual
meeting, in Boston.
The poll was funded by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline,
which makes the prescription weight loss drug orlistat,
brand named Xenical.
Earlier this year, GlaxoSmithKline received conditional
FDA approval for an over-the-counter version of the
drug, to be sold as Alli.
Other significant findings of the survey include:
- 34 percent of Americans who have tried to lose weight
have used dietary supplements in one or more attempts,
double the number who have used FDA-approved prescription
medications.
- Supplements are used by a higher proportion of blacks
(49 percent) and Hispanics (42 percent) than whites
(31 percent).
- Only 30 percent of respondents said that they would
speak to a physician about losing weight, even though
87 percent of them have a primary-care physician and
92 percent see their doctor at least once a year.
"The survey shows many Americans want to and will try
to lose weight without a doctor's help and without a
prescription medication," said investigator Saul Shiffman,
a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
"To maximize their success, overweight Americans need
to be informed about products that have been proven
effective, and to use effective products and methods,
to increase the effectiveness of Americans' dieting
efforts, and improve their health and well-being."
On the same day and at the same meeting, leaders in
the obesity field announced a national initiative to
attack misleading advertising of weight
loss diet supplements, publishing a White Paper
call-to-action.
Richard Cleland, assistant director of the U.S. Federal
Trade Commissions Division of Advertising Practices
said, "This 'White Paper' announcement is a very important
step in addressing the obesity epidemic, because what
we need, and have been sorely lacking, in a multi-pronged
approach to weight-loss fraud in the United States.
The weight-loss fraud battle cannot be won by law enforcement
alone. Consumers need to learn and to respond."
"We stand for help not hype in the face of the global
epidemic of obesity," said MRC Greenwood, a professor
of nutrition and internal medicine at the University
of California at Davis and member of the newly launched
Reality Initiative Council.
The national initiative calls for:
- Health-care professionals to teach patients about
realistic weight loss goals and to discourage the
use of untested and unproven diet products.
- Enforcement by governmental regulators of existing
laws and regulations pertaining to products making
unsubstantiated weight-loss claims.
- Communication by the media of potential consequences
of use of unverified weight loss products.
"We choose to approach the obesity epidemic by first attacking something specific, the hype of weight-loss products that creates a climate of failure," said Greenwood. "And we believe that by keeping the effort closely targeted and working closely with researchers, clinicians and the media, we can produce concrete results and begin to save lives."
Source from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov
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