Homeopathy: there’s nothing to it
From yesterday’s Herald:
Government agencies are assessing the legality of a diet that promises people they will lose up to half a kilogram a day by using a homeopathic fertility hormone banned in the United States.
The diet, which is gaining popularity in New Zealand, involves taking a substance known as hCG and restricting food to 500 calories a day for up to 40 days.
If it’s homeopathic, it doesn’t involve taking hCG. That’s kind of the point of homeopathy. Either way, if the diet involves losing half a kilogram a day, that’s water, not fat. Losing half a kilogram of fat means cutting cumulative energy intake by 4500 Calories, and you’re not doing that in a day.
If it’s homeopathic, then the product itself is presumably safe, but the diet probably isn’t, and the quoted statements by the distributor seem to pretty clearly violate NZ Advertising Standards, as does the web site.
Update: if the drops are homeopathic, they won’t be doing anything, but would real hCG help with weight loss? The place to look for evidence is the Cochrane Library (which is free-access in NZ). There is a systematic review of 14 randomised trials of hCG. In summary
Twelve of the RCTs reported that weight‐loss with the use of hCG was no greater than with the use of a placebo or with the use of diet alone.
All of the 8 trials reporting fat distribution as an outcome had negative results.
Ten trials reported on hunger and 8 on a feeling of well‐being, only one trial in each case having a positive result.
So, this is a homeopathic version of a treatment that has been demonstrated ineffective, coupled with a dangerous diet.
Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests include semiparametric models, survey sampling, statistical computing, foundations of statistics, and whatever methodological problems his medical collaborators come up with. He also blogs at Biased and Inefficient See all posts by Thomas Lumley »
The US’ FDA issued a consumer update at the end of 2011 saying the claims made by homeopathic HCG diet products were unsubstantiated and, at least the US, these products are illegal: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm
Have you made a complaint to the ASA regarding that website? If not, I might make one myself.
It’s also interesting to see that they include 2 testimonials on their website’s homepage and 9 in their testimonials section that are all doubtlessly in breach of the Medicines Act 1981 section 58(c)(iii). Each of these violations makes them liable for up to 3 months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to $500, as per section 78 of the act.
11 years ago
I haven’t. It would probably be good for someone to complain, although there is a complaint with the Commerce Commission that would address sale, not just advertising.
11 years ago