weight loss and diet statistics could be exaggerated

The Center for consumer freedom  press release

The weight-loss industry has found itself in the crosshairs of the Federal Trade Commission’s “Operation Big Fat Lies”—a crackdown on slimming powders, pills and patches that are simply too good to be true.

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) recommends that over exaggerated statistics and claims from pharmaceutical and weight-loss companies about the nation’s so-called “obesity epidemic” should also be placed under the federal microscope.

Obesity causes up to 400,000 deaths each year This statistic originated from research by David Allison, who has received funding from at least 20 companies involved in weight loss products. Among many other faults, his study used data dating back to 1948 and also failed to account for any of the improvements in medical treatments over the last 50 years.

"An Epidemic of Obesity Myths," a recently released CCF report, highlighted the pharmaceutical industry’s influence in the obesity debate. The report challenged obesity statistics by citing a wide array of health, exercise, and nutrition experts at leading universities, as well as the former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. It further exposes the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on these statistics -- drug companies stand to make big profits if its obesity hype leads Medicare and private insurance to cover their weight loss medications