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Conference Focuses on Improving Consumer Information on Weight-loss Products and Programs
A 2-day conference, Commercial Weight Loss Products and Programs-What Consumers Stand to Gain and Lose, was held on October 16 and 17, 1997, in response to a need for consumers to have the information necessary to make informed decisions about available weight-loss treatment options. The conference was unprecedented in that it was the first time representatives of the weight-loss industry, members of the scientific and academic communities, agencies from State and Federal Government, and public interest consumer groups met to address consumer issues regarding weight-loss products and programs. Hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the conference was sponsored by the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the FTC, the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
George Blackburn, M.D., President, American Society for Clinical Nutrition, stated in his welcoming remarks, "...we will address one of the most tragic, costly, and preventable public health problems facing this country today -- an epidemic of obesity that drains our economy of billions of dollars annually in direct medical expenses, disability, and lost productivity, and...together with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to over 300,000 excess deaths each year."
Van Hubbard, M.D., Ph.D., and Susan Yanovski, M.D., represented NIDDK and the National Task Force on Prevention and Treatment of Obesity as conference panelists. Additional panelists representing the Task Force were Judith Stern, D.Sc., Departments of Nutrition and Internal Medicine, University of California at Davis; and Roland Weinsier, M.D., Dr.P.H., Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Thomas Wadden, Ph.D., Weight and Eating Disorders Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who has since been appointed to the Task Force, also participated as a panelist.
Four expert panels addressed the following topics: 1) Consumer Issues-Needs and Expectations (the consumer panel); 2) Weight Loss Products and Service Providers Responding to Consumer Needs (the provider panel); 3) The State of the Art-What Do We Know About Various Types of Weight Loss? (the science panel); and 4) Government's Role in the Weight Loss Marketplace (the Government panel). Dr. Yanovski, moderator of the Government panel, said "This dialogue…should serve to concentrate our focus on how we can work cooperatively both inside and outside the Government to improve the message that consumers receive about overweight/obesity and the quality of the information they rely upon to fight it."
In a separate discussion, Dr. Stern presented various models for the disclosure of weight-loss information to consumers, including the standards for information disclosure already adopted by two States (Michigan and Connecticut) and New York City.
Conference participants agreed on an action plan to:
- Develop guidelines for the voluntary disclosure of information deemed necessary for consumers to evaluate weight-loss programs and products
- Develop an effective message for educating consumers and corresponding consumer education materials
- Explore further sources for research initiatives identified at the conference.
To learn more about the efforts to provide consumers with accurate information on weight-loss products and services, contact: Walter Gross, Division of Service Industry Practices, FTC, at (202) 326-3319. You may also read the Report of the Presiding Panel from the October 16-17, 1997, conference on the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov/os/1998/03/weightlo.rpt.htm.