What the Hoodia Weight Loss Industry Can Learn From the Trimspa Case

What the Hoodia Weight Loss Industry Can Learn From the Trimspa Case

TrimSpa found itself being investigated by the FTC after its popular advertising campaign claimed that the late Anna Nicole Smith had lost 69 pounds after using TrimSpa's signature product, TrimSpa X32. During its investigation, the FTC found that the ads didn’t explain that Anna Nicole was paid — and more importantly, the TrimSpa claims were not backed up by any scientific research.

The FTC ultimately brought a case against TrimSpa and it was announced in January of 2007 that TrimSpa settled with the FTC for $1.5 million. In addition, TrimSpa was banned from making any further claims about the "health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety or side effects" of Trimspa’s supposed miracle ingredient, hoodia gordonii, unless it came up with some evidence.

Although hoodia is extremely popular today, very few people actually know much about it. As a result, there are many companies out there who are taking advantage of this and are marketing hoodia gordonii as some kind of miracle weight loss pill. Despite all the hype, all hoodia gordonii does is suppress appetite. It does not burn fat, increase metabolism, or "magically" melt the fat away.

All these claims being thrown around have really got the FTC's attention, as shown by the TrimSpa case. The TrimSpa case is sure to be just the beginning of more cases to come. The hoodia industry is in complete disarray right now. Most companies are exaggerating what hoodia gordonii can do. Certainly, TrimSpa is not the only one. Even more disturbing than all these exaggerated claims is the authenticity of the hoodia diet pills that are sold today.

A consumer advocacy group did a study in 2006 where 17 of the most popular hoodia brands were tested for authenticity. Only six brands were shown to have authentic hoodia gordonii! That's a shocking statistic when you consider the failure rate was slightly higher than 60%.

So just what does all this mean to the hoodia weight loss industry?

It means there could be a dramatic change in the landscape of the hoodia industry if the TrimSpa case is any indication. Currently, almost every company that sells and markets hoodia diet pills exaggerates to some extent what hoodia gordonii can actually do. Furthermore, the majority of the hoodia diet pills on the market today contain very little, if any, hoodia gordonii.

The crackdown by the FTC on such prominent companies as TrimSpa is good news for the consumer. With future cases that are certain to be brought about by the FTC, companies will have no choice but to straighten up their act or face stiff fines or possibly be forced to quit selling their hoodia products all together.

The only companies left standing will be those who are honest about what hoodia gordonii can do and who sell authentic hoodia gordonii. We may be surprised to find only a few left standing given the current state of the hoodia weight loss industry!

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