How to spot a weight loss scam

Dieters, it’s time to arm yourself with shrewd new consumer tools. Sneaky manufacturers are using new scams to market their questionable weight loss products. This means that bad diet pills and programmes have become harder to spot.  Do these phrases look familiar?
“...clinically proven to burn more fat...”
“...backed by science...”
“...laboratory tested to provide weight loss results...”

Ads that contain claims like these are likely to grab your attention. And of course, not every weight loss product is a bad one. But diet frauds are still common and their advertisements often look like ads for legitimate products. In fact, many diet scams use scientific terms and phrases that are difficult for consumers to decode... until now.  Here’s everything you need to know to spot a red flag in a weight loss advertisements along with specific instructions for protecting yourself against bad diet pills and products.

Beware of per cents
When diet product manufactures want to grab your attention they often boast about impressive scientific results. But advertisers can sugarcoat poor lab results by using ambiguous per cents. See if these phrases look familiar:
“...burns 30 per cent more fat...”
“...lose weight 50 per cent faster...”

The problem is that those phrases don’t provide essential information. Any time a product is compared, you need to know what specific scenarios are being compared in order to make an informed decision.

For example, let’s say a diet pill manufacturer says that their product was studied and results prove that it helped people lose weight 75 per cent faster. The claim sounds impressive, but you need to ask yourself: “75 per cent faster than what?” The study may have compared people taking the diet pill along with a diet and exercise program to people not taking the diet pill and not dieting or exercising. Common sense would tell you that the diet and exercise produced a weight loss result, not the diet pill.

You should also compare actual numbers rather than per cents to make an informed choice.

Lists of unrelated studies
Another way that diet pill companies try to gain credibility with potential consumers is by citing clinical studies. You may see a tab on a diet programme Website that provides information on the science behind their product. But you should be wary if you see a very, very long list of clinical studies. It is possible, of course, that all of the studies support the product being advertised. But it’s also possible that they don’t. If the list of clinical studies is exceptionally long, the studies cited are often unrelated to the product being sold. They might also be outdated studies or clinical trials performed on mice.

Exaggerated language
Have you seen ads for diet pills or weight loss products that use really impressive words or phrases? Words like these are common.
“...breakthrough treatment...”
“...exclusive compound...”
“...secret formula...”

But weight loss experts confirm that they have seen no weight loss secrets, or breakthrough treatments in their careers. The vast majority of weight loss success stories happen as a result of time-tested methods like diet and exercise.
 
Refund? Seriously?
Many weight loss pills and products offer a money-back guarantee. As a consumer, this guarantee offers a sense of security because you (reasonably) assume that you can get your money back if the product doesn’t work.  But sometimes, the refund policy comes with small print that’s hard to find. You may not be able to get your money back at all. Always read the small print. And if you can’t find it, email the company for clarification. Find out if you can get your money back, how you can do so  and how much money you will receive.

What are ‘significant’ results?

Sometimes weight loss product manufacturers use the word “significant” to describe their product’s benefits. A claim like this may be a red flag:

“Laboratory tested and proven to provide significant results...” That statement seems more impressive than it really is. And there’s a tricky reason why.

When scientists conduct research and write their research results for publication, they use the word “significant” differently than we use it in our typical daily conversations.

Scientists use statistical formulas to determine if research results qualify as “significant”. So a very small, microscopic or even fractional result might be “significant” according to technical scientific standards. But that doesn’t mean that the result should matter to you.

Source: www.weightloss.about.com