Celebrities Fatten Wallets Pitching Shaky Weight Loss Products

FTC fines TrimSpa for unsubstantiated weight loss claims. So how did Anna Nicole Do It?

Celebrities are lining up to eat from the professional endorsement trough, pitching a wide range of fat loss products and regimens.

Every “A” and “B” list actress, athlete or known-for-being-known celeb is signing a contract to shill pound-shedding solutions. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Kirstie Alley (for Jenny Craig), Oprah Winfrey (Total Body Makeover), Dr. Phil (Shape Up), Jennifer Aniston (Zone Diet), Steve Garvey (Fat Trapper), Jenny McCarthy (Weight Watchers), Carmen Electra (NV Beauty Enhancing Weight Loss) are just some of the Hollywood personalities benefiting from other people’s problems, with little evidence of making them better. But the queen of them all is Anna Nicole Smith.

With scientific credentials that include being a former Playboy centerfold with questionable mothering skills, Ms. Smith is a highly paid TrimSpa spokesperson and weight loss expert. What she lacks in scientific credibility, she made up for in dress size reduction results.

Anyone viewing her criminal charges coverage and court appearances over the last 5 years can see that she’s loss a considerable amount of weight. Good for her. In network advertising, magazine ads, bus billboards and in-store displays, she claimed it’s “TrimSpa, baby!” that did it, and encouraged hopeful viewers to “Be envied.” But the reason for that miraculous physical transformation is in doubt.

‘Not so fast, Anna’, says the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

In a recent judgment, the FTC leveled millions of dollars in fines against the makers of TriSpa. The Feds state the manufacturer of this popular diet product had no scientific data to substantiate weigh loss results, despite the evidence provided by Ms. Smith’s appearance.

How did Anna Nicole drop the excess tonnage?

In addition to taking TrimSpa, she inadvertently admitted she spent a lot of laxative-induced “time on the pot.” So, how do you a non-Hollywood type person, sort through the many claims made by the rich and famous, to find a diet supplement that really works? The answer can be found by focusing on less-glamorous people wearing white lab coats. While they may not provide the eye candy appeal of a Carmen Electra or even Oprah Winfrey, medical researchers, not celebrities, hold the key to finding a weight loss product that actually works.

Clinical studies, conducted at reputable medical institutions (such as Harvard, Georgetown, etc.), done over a period of 8 weeks or longer, using double blind placebo methods, may not sound attractive. But they help to separate the truly beneficial weight loss supplements from the celebrity preferred, ineffectual sugar pills.

As the FTC commissioner stated, our infatuation with celebrity and glamour should not cloud our judgment about what works best for weight loss and overall health. Instead of looking for a solution in the tabloids, consumers should spend more time on the Internet, looking for clinical substantiation of weight loss supplement products.

Dave Perry is a partner at Proven Results Health, a provider of clinically-proven diabetic weight loss supplements.