FTC Charges Three Weight-Loss Products with Making False Claims, Companies Required to Pay $27 Million

by Marjorie Korn


Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo

We know a lot of you come to SELF to help achieve your better body goals, and while we are always telling you about the newest exercise routines and latest nutrition news, it always hinges on a basic principle: success only comes from healthy diet and exercise. And while it'd be awesome if there was a get-slim-quick product that was healthy and worked, we've already learned there's not. And the folks at the Federal Trade Commission, whose responsibility it is to protect consumers from bogus claims, is putting the kibosh on the latest slew of weight-loss products.

The FTC called out three companies -- Sensa, L'Occitane, and HCG Diet Direct -- for deceiving consumers into thinking weight loss could be as simple as sprinkling powder on your food, rubbing on a cream or having drops of a synthetic hormone that comes from pregnant women's urine. (Yeah, it's gross, and there's no proof it's either safe or effective.) Furthermore, the FTC is forcing Sensa to pony up a whopping $26.5 million and L'Occitane a more modest $450,000 that can eventually be refunded to consumers who purchased one of the gimmicky items. Such a high price tag indicates two things: 1. Just how seriously the FTC is tackling the problem of false advertising, and 2. how much money companies like these bamboozle out of people.


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