Hydroxycut

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hydroxycut is a nutritional supplement marketed by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., designed to help consumers lose weight. It is sold at conventional retailers, such as GNC and Wal-Mart, online retailers such as Hydroxycut and Evitamins, and through direct television marketing.

Currently sold in the United States without ephedra, it advertises under a marketing slogan of a product that increases metabolism and reduces hunger cravings. Like many nutraceuticals, its efficacy is questionable^[1].

Hydroxycut promotes itself as being created and endorsed by doctors. Television advertisements for Hydroxycut feature Jon Marshall D.O., a 2005 graduate of Midwestern University's osteopathic medical school, still in residency. Hydroxycut is also endorsed by Marvin Heuer, MD, FAAFP, Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Florida.

[edit] Controversy

On March 27, 2003, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed a lawsuit in St. Louis against Hydroxycut's manufacturer MuscleTech Research and Development, Inc stating that claims Hydroxycut was "clinically proven" to be a "fat-burner" were false, specifically:^[2]

The product is not “clinically proven” to be a “fat-burner,” as MuscleTech claims. MuscleTech’s own study showed that Hydroxycut has no efficacy as compared to placebo with the possible exception of an appetite-suppressing effect. Moreover, the serious adverse health risks of Hydroxycut with ephedra – including death – were not adequately described or disclosed in marketing and labeling of the product.

Nixon also alleged that the "before" and "after" photographs were misleading, and that one woman's "before" photo was deceptive because she was recently pregnant.^[3]

MuscleTech paid $100,000 to settle the case while denying any wrongdoing.^[4]