'Quack foods' that claim to aid weight loss are 'waste of money'

[AllieB]

Subheading: Consumers are wasting billions of pounds on 'quack' foods that promise to help them lose weight, a nutritional expert has warned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/3519791/Quack-foods-that-claim-to-aid-weight-loss-are-waste-of-money.html

snip:

New legislation must be enforced to prevent the deception, Prof Michael Lean, of University of Glasgow said, as the marketing of food stuffs do not face the same stringent controls as medicines.

Writing in the British Medical Journal online, he said marketing foods as 'low fat' and 'helps lower cholesterol' have to be substantiated under current rules and labelling foods as preventing or treating disease is illegal, but 'huge numbers' of such claims are still being made overtly or implied.

More here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/3519791/Quack-foods-that-claim-to-aid-weight-loss-are-waste-of-money.html
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What is scary is that this Dr. Lean is promoting the typical pharmaceutical/surgical alternatives: "He said only appropriate diets, exercise, licensed drugs such as orlistat and sibutramine along with bariatric surgery which includes stomach stapling and gastric bands, are safe and effective."

It's all about money.

[Celebration]

1. guess I need to give up eating celery n/t

[zipplewrath]

2. No, it's about effectiveness

The problem is that effectiveness in this context has to be proven directly, not by inference. The vast majority of diet/weight loss related products demonstrate their effectiveness by implied inference. "Low fat" is relatively useless in a sugar candy. There is no tangible dietary advantage of eating candy as a way of avoiding fat. But commercial products will suggest that their's is a "part of a low fat diet which has been shown to reduce weight and lower cholesterol". THAT is all about the money. Showing directly that sugar candy can be "part of a safe and effective in reducing weight" cost money. It's far cheaper to find a study showing that low fat diets help with weight loss, and then suggest that your low fat candy is some how part of a low fat diet.

[NV Whino]

3. Dr Lean? You're kidding, right?

[AllieB]

4. Ironic last name, no?

[NV Whino]

5. You gotta love it.

[Crunchy Frog]

6. Bariatric surgery may be effective, but it sure as shit isn't safe.

You're vastly better off if you can lose the weight through diet and exercise, rather than resorting to the extreme means of surgery. Of course, nobody really makes much money off of that.