All without adjusting diet or increasing physical a dimity. It seems to be good activity. It seems too good to be true, and it is. We have some of these ads. The amazing new clinically proven sensation that you sprinkle on to take the weight off. Whether you need to lose 10 pounds, 50 pounds, or more, now you can about dieting. Sprinkle it on, eat all the foods you love, and watch the pounds come off. It is that easy. You will lose weight faster and easier than you ever dreamed possible. I lost over 120 pounds. Sign to say they have found a magic weight loss Scientists Say they have found the magic weight loss pill. This is very exciting and it is breaking news. Millions of you love coffee, but now you will love it for a whole other reason false. A newly wholeed study for a other reason. A newly released study says the coffee beans might hold the secret to weight loss that youve been waiting for. It triggered unprecedented excitement. It showed women and men who took green coffee extract lost an astounding amount of fat and weight, 17 pounds in 22 weeks. By doing absolutely nothing extra in their day. Could this be the magic weight loss dream . Isnt there a satellite radio ad . Lots of terrible ads on satellite radio. Sois easy to understand why many consumers are willing to take a chance and believe suspicious claims like these. More than one third of American Adults are obese and 70 are either obese or overweight. Furtheriliar story is colored by surveys finding the desire among americans to lose weight consistently failing to put any effort to do so. Adults wanted to lose weight, 25 said they were seriously working towards the goal. Can perhapsh u. S. In the growth of the weight loss Energy Industry as well as the proliferation of deceptive advertising for Weight Loss Products. Many americans desperate anything that might make it easier to lose weight, it is no wonder scam artist have targeted the market to make a quick buck. The federal trade commission filed its first weight loss case in 1927. Fat ismed that excess literally dissolved away, leaving the figure slaim. Since 1927, the ftc has filed more than 250 cases challenging faults and unproven weightloss claims, including four settlements announced in january and last month, a complaint against the sellers of the green coffee dietary supplement. More than one in 10 fraud claims submitted are for Weight Loss Products. The problem is much larger than any Enforcement Agency can tackle on its own. Private stakeholders, companies that sell Weight Loss Products, Media Outlets and advertising that forms as well as consumer watchdogs must all do their part. Media outlets and platforms serve as a critical gatekeeper to keep false and deceptive advertising from reaching consumers. Them being here today to discuss the recent report on this issue. The challenge of Online Companies face in addressing deceptive advertising and what i can do. The problem is not limited to the internet. My staff reached out to a Companies Across all mediums to better understand industry practices and monitoring advertising. I find it troubling that satellite radio witnesses who were asked to be here today were unwilling to appear. There is either something to hide or they do not have a good story to tell. We will not be effective in addressing this problem until all stakeholders take it seriously. There are good actors and bad actors. We will hear from the council for responsible nutrition the new feature or product on your show, it creates the oz affect. Dramatically boosting sales. I understand your message is focused on Healthy Eating in advertising, im concerned that you are melding radical advice and entertainment that harms consumers. Medical advice entertainment that harms consumers. The scams resulted in financial losses. But what makes weightloss scams stand out, i can potentially put a Consumers Health at risk. What more stakeholders can and should be doing to keep false and deceptive weightloss ads. I look forward to hearing from all of our Witnesses Today and thank you for being here. Thank you. I want to thank our witnesses for taking the time. We all know that Weight Management is of interest to many americans. I should add politicians to that. It is no surprise the market is quite significant. Understand the appeal these products have for those attempting to improve their help. Many are legitimate. Making responsible representation about Health Benefits and other claims. Ike any other marketplace, there are bad actors in this space. Fraudsters and those who seize upon dieting fads. The key tobelieve healthy weight loss is a combination of diet annexed her size. I would be suspect of diet and exercise. I can understand how a person may question their own assumptions when a person they believe has credibility on the issue makes a claim about any particular product. I am least we are joined by mary. Ngel work to shut ftcs down the scam artist and i look forward to learning more about the commissions success this year. I look forward to hearing her thoughts about how the commission is applying its reasonable standard for substantiating health claims, including weight loss. This standard has been a flexible one, it is no secret the ftc has pursued or stringent requirements. It is an open question as to who will applyrements and whether the standard is consistent. I would also like to welcome dr. Oz here today. The show debuted in 2009 and reaches 3 Million Viewers every day. I look forward to hearing from dr. Oz. We were informed that dr. Oz does not endorse particular projects and he has been the subject of unscrupulous entities. Much has been written about the socalled dr. Oz affect whereby commands spike after they are featured on his show. When the celebrity dr. Mentioned 12,000 . Ts, sales rose it is this popularity that may have influenced a foreignbased company to entered the market with green coffee bean extraction. This company is the subject of enforcement action for unfair and deceptive claims with regards to this product. I would also like to welcome our other witnesses. Bureau, theusiness council for responsible ads. Org, andust in the Natural Products association. Thank you for holding this hearing, madam chairman. Word . Ld you like to say a i think my colleague did a great job of introducing everyone. Mary ingle is the associate director for the division of advertising practices at the federal trade commission. , vice chairman and professor of surgery at columbia university. Mr. Lee peeler, president and cto of advertising selfregulatory council. Mr. Stephen mister, council for responsible nutrition. The executive director of trust in ads. Org. The executive director and ceo of Natural Products association. We will begin with your testimony. We will have you on a clock. I know you understand, dr. Oz, about the clock. We are not strict about that. If you need to go over a few moments, we will not have a problem. Welcome. Good morning. I am associate director for advertising practices at the federal trade commission. I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide information regarding the ftcs effort to combat fraudulent weightloss advertising. The United States is facing an obesity epidemic. 70 of u. S. Adults are overweight or obese. Their major contributors to chronic diseases and health care cost. It is not surprising that there is strong interest in products that claim to provide promote weight loss. Ftcs 2011 survey of consumer fraud, more consumers were victims of fraudulent weightloss products of any of the other specific projects we surveyed. There exist very little Scientific Evidence that pills and supplements alone can help one lose a significant amount of weight. Scientists agree the foundation of successful weight loss is to heat a healthy calorie controlled diet and increase physical activity. The commission filed its first weightloss case back in 1927 and we have filed 250 cases challenging false and unproven weightloss claims. In the past 10 years, the commission has brought 82 Law Enforcement actions challenging of substantiating claims unsubstantiated claims. Hase 2010, the commission collected 107 million in consumer restitution for deceptive weightloss claims. Our recent cases highlight how the agency has focused its priority on Large National advertising campaigns. Operation failed resolution announced targeted the newest weight loss fads. Consumers were casually urged to loose 30, 40,a to 90 pounds without dieting exercise. Consumers with a taste for the rare might try liquid drops made from a form of human hormones to lose a pound a day. Each of these cases in resolved resulted in a settlement. Despite this long history of enforcement, weightloss fraud persists. It is an area where consumers are vulnerable to fraud and an enormous amount of money to be made. We have recently noticed some disturbing developments. Usingetary studies erroneous or fabricated data. This was true against sensa and skechers counting shoes. Toning shoes. Our pending case shows how the marketers of the pure green coffee capitalized on dr. Oz having featured green coffee beans on his show and calling it magic. When consumers see products marketed in sophisticated ways on respected Media Outlets were praised by hosts they trust, it can be difficult for them to listen to their internal voices. That is why we have longsought the partnership of the media. Our gut check reference guide advises the media on seven weightloss claims they cannot be true and the media should think twice about it he for running. We recognize that consumers are the first line of defense. The ftc has developed a full arsenal of consumer educational materials ranging from traditional obligations to online websites. Today we launched an interactive consumer quiz. Thank you for focusing attention on weightloss scams. Fraud, weer eliminate will continue our efforts to pursue the perpetrators, work with the media to prevent fraudulent ads from running, and educate consumers. Thank you. Thank you. You, members of the committee, for convening this hearing. Consumer scams and fraud have plagued me and my work since i first started in media long before my talk show. It is a problem i have spent time and energy come broadcast resources and money trying to combat. I am encouraged that you decided to prioritize this criminal enterprise. Together, we can doubt the flames of this uncontrolled wildfire. Iner i finished my training 1993, i began practicing cardiothoracic surgery. I performed thousands of surgeries on patients whose hearts had been ravaged i obesity. I went into public life in an effort to teach. I started to guest on the Oprah Winfrey show in 2004. ,hen we discussed supplements they would be there would be internet ads with pictures of us claiming we were supporting these products. We filed a civil suit against Companies Making these ads. It had very little impact. 10 years later, we are back. I am forced to defend my reputation every single day. These ads take money from trusting viewers. I have never sold supplements. I have taken a number of measures to deal with this problem to protect my viewers. The passionate language i used we haveibe something been more stringent and presenting opportunities ive include opposing and have included opposing voices on those segments. This has had no discerning impact. , if you lookshowed deeper into the show, we mention something to the fact that these are crutches. You will not get their without diet and exercise. Campaignunched a called its not me and used various Media Partners to amplify the coverage. Them that i do not sell anything. If they see my name or picture, do not buy the product. Oz watch, a way for viewers to report scams. It has collected more than 35,000 complaints. We even hired a private company to help with these threats disclaims. These claims. He was using my name and stealing my name, he was providing 10 of the active ingredient. Whether it works or not, that is a separate issue. It is a shameless series of perpetrators we are dealing with. Ive also taken action on my own, but working together, we can achieve a lot more. Let me address the criticism. Im respectful of these criticisms. We address weightloss because it affects two thirds of the population. The only message i gave was to be less and move more. Viewers know these tips and they still struggle. We search for tools and crutches for shortterm ways for viewers to jumpstart their process. Cleanses and new diet programs by promising authors. Any of these are controversial i would rather have a conversation on my stage then back alleys. The conversation will still happen. Today is not a referendum on alternative medicine. We are not here to decide if id amend supplements make sense in Vitamin Supplements make sense. I need to be a part of this. I feel passionate about doing this. I would like to offer some thoughts later on about how we can create a quick reference registry, incentivize whistleblowers to assist the ftc. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to testify on the ongoing work of the Advertising Industry selfregulatory system as it applies to weightloss advertising. This was created in 1971 by the nations leading advertising trade associations. Since that time, we have pioneered a rigorous form of selfregulation that is thertial, administered by council of Better Business bureaus, comprehensive, applies to all national advertisers. It is transparent. T is Effective Companies that do not participate in the process or do not follow the recommendations are reported to the ftc. We work on a casebycase basis. Apply ftc type standards to those claims. Each year, we issue almost 200 decisions on a wide variety of advertising issues, including a dozen last year that addressed advertising of weightloss claims. Claims fortory Weight Loss Products included issues ranging from technical to questions about the validity of complex underlying studies that support the advertisers claim. One recent decision addressed advertisings for product, included claims that it had been proven to promote four times weightloss diet or exercise. Claims resulted cited results. The advertiser told us that special report was posted by an unauthorized third party. Specific Product Performance claims should be discontinued in their current form. We had a very similar case with one of the other ingredients popular in this area, raspberry tone. Of has handled hundreds advertising review cases, including claims associate it with weightloss products and services. They over to resolve complaints about Business Practices and are uniquely positioned to identify local and National Scams as they emerged. We are a major outlet for the educational material thethey ovc describes because we have 100 Better Business bureaus located around the country. Last year, they handled thousands of complaints about weightloss products, including a growing number of complaints about weightloss clinics. Unsubstantiated weightloss claims are also associated with problematic billing practices underscoring the adage that misleading weightloss claims frequently lighten the consumers wallets. The st. Louis bbb is not seeing a rise in weightloss clinic ads in that particular jurisdiction. Selfregulation works only if it has the support of the industry and the government. ,o associations in particular the Electronic Retailing Association and the council for responsible nutrition have stepped forward to provide the types of no Strings Attached funding that allows us to do our impartial monitoring and decisionmaking work. Formalh there is no relationship between the advertising selfregulation process and the government, decades of support have been absolutely critical in the success of the process. Although there have been significant efforts by the federal and State Government to control of substantiated claims unsubstantiated claims, more can be done. Obviously. In addition, trade associations need to follow the example set by the Electronic Retailing Association and the council for responsible nutrition and step up and support self mauled selfregulatory monitoring in the marketplace. The ftcs renewed efforts to enlist consistent support of the media and guardians against the egregious types of weightloss claims is a key step. Network broadcasters have a sophisticated process for network ads. In the new media, google has introduced a new approach to add screening that is tailored to. Hat specific new media there are lots of other media channels,ndependent cable television, satellite radio, and radio not doing as much. I close with an anecdote. This weekend, i got a spam that said ifoduct i took the product, i would never have to diet again. Internet andn the earth, it was for a post office box. It was a regulatory trifecta. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Mister. I am the president and ceo of responsiblefor nutrition. We are the leading trade association representing the manufacturers of Dietary Supplements, functional foods. We empathize with the americans vulnerable to false promises for losing weight fast. Americans spend over 40 billion a nutrition. We are the leading trade association representing the manufacturers of Dietary Supplements, functional foods. Year trying to lose weight. Dietary supplements and meal replacements are a 5. 3 billion industry. Mall fraction of the total we want to be clear that there are a number of dietary ingredients used in weig