FTC Challenges Ad Claims for Kids' Weight Loss Supplement, Topical Products

FTC Challenges Ad Claims for Kids' Weight Loss Supplement, Topical Products

WASHINGTON--The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged three companies and their principals with making false and unsubstantiated claims for the product Pedia Loss. Product ads claim that Pedia Loss is an "appetite suppressant for children 6 and older" that "slows the absorption of fat" and "safely burn[s] fat." The FTC complaint states that there is no competent and reliable evidence to support these claims.

The parties named in the FTC complaint include Dynamic Health of Florida LLC, Chhabra Group LLC, DBS Laboratories LLC, Vineet Chhabra and Jonathan Barash.

"Obesity among children is a serious and growing concern," said Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Marketers who exploit parents' concerns should expect close scrutiny from the FTC."

The FTC complaint also challenges advertising claims made by the parties for the product Fabulously Feminine, a dietary supplement intended to enhance female sexuality. The FTC alleges that the claims that the product will increase a woman's libido, sexual desire and sexual satisfaction by stimulating blood flow and increasing sensitivity are unsubstantiated.

The full text of the FTC complaint is available atwww.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9317/index.htm.

In a separate action, FTC charged five companies with making false claims in the marketing of various weight loss gels and supplements. Included in the complaint are Basic Research LLC, A.G. Waterhouse LLC, Klein-Becker USA LLC, Nutrasport LLC, Sovage Dermalogic Laboratories LLC, BAN LLC, Dennis Gay, Daniel Mowrey, Ph.D. (also doing business as American Phytotherapy Research Laboratory); and Mitchell Friedlander, all operating from the same Salt Lake City facility.

The complaint focuses on six of the respondents' products: Dermalin, Cutting Gel, and Tummy Flattening Gel (topical fat-loss gels with the same active ingredient); Leptoprin and Anorex (identical weight-loss supplements for "significantly overweight" people which contain ECA [ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin], an additional patented ingredient and calcium); and PediaLean (a glucomannan weight-loss supplement for children).

The full text of the FTC complaint is available atwww.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9318/index.htm.