When it comes to health, you can make massive improvements withvery little effort. And the results will change your life -- at leastaccording to the health-related infomercials tracked by researchersat Brigham Young University.
Or will they?
It's unlikely, according to the research, which found similaritiesin marketing techniques and in the lack of evidence that the productsbeing sold actually work, said Susan C. Hill, assistant professor ofhealth education. The findings are published in the current editionof the American Journal of Health Education.
'We had some interesting findings in terms of common themes in howthese health-related infomercials are presented,' she said. 'Theirformat, the implied benefits and the overt things they say.'
Four researchers at BYU did a content analysis of 31 health-related infomercials -- all those that aired during the weeklongperiod selected for study -- on the six local networks. They didn'tlook at the plethora of ads that also run on cable networks.
Most infomercials for health-related products target young people,women and the elderly, they noted. And they also found 'health isdefined through your physical attractiveness and beauty, not in termsof how your body functions,' said Hill, who hopes the research willencourage education on how to be a wise consumer and determining whenyou're just hearing a sales pitch. 'Physical appearance is the onlything that matters. If you try a little harder, have a little moreself-discipline, you can look like this and have a better sociallife.'
Senior citizens are targeted, the researchers believe, becausethey tend to be more trusting and in retirement may have morediscretionary income. They may also have some health problems thatmake a simple fix seem awfully attractive.
The biggest category of health-related infomercials are drug andherbal supplements, in a broad field that includes exerciseequipment, food-preparation equipment, cosmetics and personal hygieneproducts.
Hawking health on television is all about presentation andstrategy, said Hill, and most infomercials use the same bag oftricks: testimonials, official-looking 'experts,' computer animationand use of pseudo-scientific terms. All presented within anewsmagazine format to make it look like a credible news show, ratherthan a marketing pitch. In the study, 90 percent of the infomercialsrelied on consumer testimonials and 87 percent promised immediateresults.
The pseudo-scientific terms 'sound credible, but an average personwouldn't know what it means. But it sounds important so it must beimportant and right,' she said. For example, two competing companieseach say their products use 'hair cloning.' The question is, can youclone a hair -- at least in the way that most people think of theword cloning? The BYU researchers couldn't discover a scientificallyvalid use of the pairing of the two words.
Other words exist in science, all right, but not in the waythey're being used. For instance, Hill said, they heard used thephrase 'fecal fat content.' But not in a context in which it wouldmake sense. Ditto 'secretagogues.'
Testimonials count on having an emotional appeal. And they work.But 'it's hard to know if what occurred did so because of theproduct, a placebo effect or something else.'
Ditto the 'before' and 'after' photos. 'With the computer andtechnology available, the average consumer can't know if it wascomputer altered.'
The researchers -- Hill, BYU senior in community health AstridOlsen, health science department chairman Gordon Lindsay and SteveThomsen, an associate professor in the department of communications -- noted that many of the companies doing the advertising sounded forall the world like they simply have the audience's best interests inmind, that they can't bear to see someone suffer from (fill in theblank) flabby thighs or acne or back pain or whatever. It was almosteasy to overlook the bottom line, that 'they want to make money,'Hill said.
In not one of the infomercials did the researchers believepresenters were 100 percent accurate or straightforward, though someseemed to be based, at least loosely, on facts.
Hill has some advice for people who are tempted by infomercials.For one thing, they should look for buzz-words, like 'natural,''quick,' 'easy, 'award-winning.'
'Those words should raise red flags. Also watch if the small printthat flashes across the screen says the results are not typical orcites a time lapse,' she counsels. 'If it sounds too good to be true,it probably is. This is definitely buyer beware, but we have toremind ourselves over and over because the people who market theproducts are very good at what they do.
'There's nothing random in how they portray things ininfomercials: Lighting, the people they use to promote the product.You'll seen in the background the so-called expert in a white labjacket, the certificate on the wall behind him. You can't tell whatit says. It's all to add to the credibility. The awards may be withintheir own organization, but most people don't know that.'
The Federal Trade Commission has a large number of consumer-fraudcases each year that involve health and fitness products. Accordingto the infomercial trade association, that's the top-selling categoryof infomercial products.
Verne Larsen, a coordinator for the Utah State Office ofEducation, says the findings are relevant to health educators andconsumers in general. 'Part of a good health education is helpingyouth develop the necessary health and social skills to becomeproductive members of society. Educators need to be as creative asmarketers in helping youths develop the skills needed to counteractsome of those messages.'
Products may have the benefits they claim, but if an infomercialdoesn't back up the statements it makes with data -- such as from aclinical trial -- people watching the program should maintain someskepticism, Hill said. At the very least, they ought to talk to theirphysician or health-care provider about whether or not they'd benefitfrom it.
In the future, Hill hopes to study why people decide to buy health-related goods and services that they see on infomercials.
E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com
