THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM PRINTED VERSION
It's no secret that television infomercials are heavy on bogus, money-back guarantees and light on truth and accuracy.A recent study from Brigham Young University says that health-related infomercials are particularly suspect.
'Results from this study suggest that most health-related infomercials have crossed the line and operate in the domain of deception,' writes Susan Hill, an assistant professor of medicine and the lead author of the report.
Even more shocking, Hills explains in her study, is that 'a large number of the FTC (the Federal Trade Commission) consumer-fraud cases involve health and fitness products, and infomercial trade associations report that the No. 1-selling category of infomercial products are health and fitness items.'
In other words, as bad as these TV spots are, they aren't going away, the study concludes. FTC officials also told Hill their truth-in-advertising enforcement programs are not stringent enough to squash these bogus claims.
Hill's findings were reported in the American Journal of Health Education.
In the study, four trained observers watched 31 half-hour, health-related infomercials videotaped during a one-week period in October 2001. The spots were aired on six major networks.
Among the 'implied benefits' outlined in the spots: increased memory, cancer-fighting properties, increased muscle bulk and improved sexual performance.
Few of these benefit claims could be proven with any scientific or medical backup data, according to the study.
