THE | DIET DETECTIVE^®

As soon as I saw it, I cringed at the full page ad. There it was, in yesterday’s USA Today: “Burning Calories Is Now Officially Delicious”.

Coca Cola and Nestle are working together on a product that they are claiming will burn calories—drink it and the antioxidant properties and caffeine found in green tea will burn of more calories than the drink itself has.  Other companies have similar products, too.  It’s deceptive for any company to even make a claim like that.  First of all, there’s no real evidence that this is even possible.  The negative calorie concept hasn’t necessarily been proven.  Theoretically, it makes logical sense, but that doesn’t mean that’s how your body works.  A little lose evidence on a PubMed search doesn’t justify companies making broad claims about a new product.  Especially when their claims are backed up only by their own research.

CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) is on the case.  In a Press Release from December, 2006 CSPI shared that they plan to sue Coke and Nestle if the weight loss claims persist.  The Connecticut Attorney General is, too.

How can claims like this take place—how can the FDA let this happen?  The health arena is so hard to navigate as it is…we don’t need companies (large or small) releasing controversial claims to make it more confusing.  The idea that there is something that will magically make you thin is great.  And maybe that day will come, and maybe the food police will be happy.  And don’t get me wrong.  It’s a cool looking bottle, available at Wal Mart, a great trademark and ad…you’ll want to be apart of it.  I know I do.   But the idea of the calorie burner.  Even the average person, SMART people will be thinking “what harm can it do?”, and the placebo effect is a powerful one.   People drinking it will think they’re doing something good for themselves…which is why these types of claims need to be harder to make.

Do you think that the Government should regulate such claims? How else are consumers to know what to do?