Fat fraud

Get rich quick. Find true happiness. Earn thousands of dollars a week. Triple your gas mileage. Stop those wrinkles. Never pay taxes again. Receive unclaimed inheritances. The eat-what-you-want diet. Wipe out credit-card debt.

It doesn't matter what instant gratification is promised. If it's too good to be true, it's probably a scam.

The Federal Trade Commission added another claim to its too-good-to-be-true list: over-the-counter diet pills that promise substantial weight loss or increased metabolism. Four marketers of pills making such claims have agreed to pay $25 million in fines. There is no scientific evidence, the FTC says, that shows the pills do what's promised. In one study, overweight individuals taking a placebo lost more weight than those taking a well-advertised pill.

The quest for a pill that eliminates excessive weight has been going on for a long time. But, like the search for the fountain of youth, no such pill exists, even though such claims continue to be made.

Medical and nutrition experts say the only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than your body needs. One way to increase the calories your body uses is to exercise more. That's why proven and medically sound weight-loss programs combine a healthy diet and an exercise program.

It is interesting to note that the FTC fined the marketers of the weight-loss pills, but it did not ban the sale of those pills. One company says it will continue to market its pills as a multivitamin. Others will find new ways of selling their pills without making overt claims cited by the FTC in its latest ruling.

Scams are hard to eradicate, and new snake-oil schemes show up every day. When it comes to weight loss, however, it should be easy to spot a fake. Any pill guaranteed to make you lose weight without regard for food consumption and exercise is a phony.