Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

You may not recognize the company name of NBTY, Inc., Puritan’s Pride or Nature’s Bounty, but I’m pretty sure you recognize the name Vitamin World. They have been ordered by the FTC to pay a two million dollar fine for bogus weight loss claims.

• NBTY, Inc. to Pay $2 Million Penalty For Alleged Violations of FTC Order Company Distributes Dietary Supplements in the U.S. and Abroad

You see their stores in strip malls around the country and they have a strong presence on the Internet. They seem legitmate in every way, so it’s understandable that people might have been taken in by their claims.

The FTC alleged that, among other things, the company claimed falsely or without substantiation that its products promoted weight loss, increased muscle mass, decreased body fat, promoted hair growth, prevented premature hair loss, lowered cholesterol, and prevented arthritis. Under the terms of the order settling the matter, NBTY agreed not to make unsubstantiated claims about any dietary supplement and not to misrepresent the results or conclusions of any test, study, research article, or any other scientific opinion or data.

That takes care of them for now, but what happens when another company jumps into the fray, saying that you will lose weight with their product? Don’t wait for the FTC to protect you. These violations were from 1995. It takes the government a decade to knuckle down on offenders. Protect yourself by staying as far away from any product that promises that you can lose weight. All you need is within you.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, October 11 2005