Ad Watchdog TINA.org Blasts Lipozene’s Fat Burning Claims

MADISON, CONN.  April 11, 2016 Lose weight without changing your lifestyle, according to ads for a popular diet supplement, Lipozene. No so fast says ad watchdog, truthinadvertising.org (TINA.org). The consumer group investigated the diet supplement company’s advertising and found it riddled with false and deceptive claims and in violation of a court order.

Obesity Research Institute, the makers of what it claims is America’s #1 selling diet supplement, Lipozene as well as another diet aid, MetaboUp, is no stranger to legal action by regulators. A decade ago, Obesity Research Institute was reaping more than $40 million in sales by hawking products that it said would cause rapid weight loss without the need to reduce calories or increase physical activity (sound familiar?). In 2005, the FTC accused the company of deceptive advertising for lacking reliable scientific evidence to back up those advertising claims. To settle the case, the company agreed to pay $1.5 million — less than one percent of its sales revenues  — for consumer redress and to never again make misleading and deceptive weight-loss claims.

But according to TINA.org’s investigation, the company is at it again. Television ads claim that Lipozene is clinically proven to reduce body fat and that users can lose substantial weight (e.g., “400% more weight,” “35 pounds in 10 weeks”) without any change in diet or exercise — in clear violation of the company’s 2005 consent order with the FTC. TINA.org’s research also revealed additional deceptive marketing issues including false “Made in the USA” claims in some of its commercials and issues with repeated billing of consumer credit cards.

As a result, TINA.org has referred the case to the FTC for enforcement action.

To see TINA.org’s article including links to sources, click here: www.truthinadvertising.org/articles/lipozene-fat-burning