Supplement industry is full of quacks

DIETING

The U.S. diet industry attracts large numbers of quacks and other pseudoscientists because consumers are so gullible, according to Katherine Beals, a Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., nutritionist. Scam artists seek a piece of the $30,000,000,000 Americans spend annually on a multitude of diet supplements, she says. Dietary supplements are products containing vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and other botanicals. They are intended to supplement the diet. Promotions for good and bad products are found daily in newspaper and magazine ads and television infomercials. The advertisements accompany products sold in stores, on the Internet, and through mail-- order catalogues.

"As a nation, we are witnessing a large and rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity, with an estimated 61% of Americans currently overweight or obese," she points out. "Many people are desperate and are looking for an easy answer to their problems. Quick fixes are appealing to Americans."

Beals explains that her research found people targeted by diet scam operators include the elderly and athletes. "Older people want to feel like they did when they were young. Athletes want a competitive edge. Both are looking for a miracle in a bottle."

Because supplements are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the best way to avoid fraud is to become a smart shopper, Beals suggests. Signs of potential quackery include half-- truths, testimonials and anecdotes, unpublished or uncited studies, buzzwords or pseudomedical jargon, secret formulas, quick results, and missing or questionable credentials.

"Every year, hundreds of people are injured permanently or die at the hands of people hawking fraudulent diet products," she cautions. "You don't know what you are getting in a bottle. You could get sugar in a pill or it could be something toxic."