US consumers are suing weight-loss supplement manufacturer Body Solutions for misleading product advertising, reports NBC news.
The Body Solutions product is advertised widely throughout the US, where one in four adults is obese. But after trying the product for three months, Florida housewife Janet Makinen is to sue the company for falsely claiming that the product helps slimming.
Makinen's lawyer hopes there are enough complaints for a class action lawsuit. "We're asking the court to stop misleading advertisement from luring people from buying the Body Solution product," she said.
The Body Solutions product comes in the form of a tonic, to be drunk before bedtime on an empty stomach. However, it also contains the herb ephedra, like many other weight-loss supplements.
Eighty deaths nationwide have been linked to the herb and now the FDA is investigating its "amphetamine-like" action, which places severe stress on the heart. "It can cause seizures, tremors and some people have died from this," said Samantha Heller, a nutritionist at New York Medical Center.
According to doctors, dieting with equipment, supplements and potions, is a $33-billion a year unregulated business in the US. But of the 50 million Americans who will diet this year, only 5% will lose weight.
Body Solutions says it abides by all Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission rules, although active complaints are being investigated by the FTC.