The weight loss market is facing a trust crisis, with scams including money-back guarantees for ineffective products, high prices, and the addition of random additives.

Trust crisis in the weight loss market

1. Money-back guarantee if ineffective; exaggerated advertising.

On the street, you often see advertisements with claims like "Lose 3 kg in 10 days, 10 kg in 30 days at a certain weight loss center, money-back guarantee if ineffective," "Lose 500 grams for 100 yuan," and "Sign up for weight loss, never rebound." These seem like legitimate claims, at least not too outrageous. However, many people quickly realize the truth once they try it: numerous hidden conditions force you to pay for a membership card, and once you're done, you can forget about getting your money back. If you can't stick to it, then it's your fault.

2. They mark up prices and sell at low prices; they'll rip you off without hesitation.

Some weight loss products are priced very high, but are heavily discounted on the first day of their release, and this discounting continues indefinitely. The market is frequently flooded with claims like "10 yuan weight loss verification," "20 yuan experience miraculous weight loss effects," and "less than three yuan a day, losing a pound a day," etc. Little do people know that their costs are extremely low; some large boxes may only cost one or two yuan to produce. The high price isn't meant to sell, but rather to entice you to buy, then use the incentive of significant discounts to lure you in. Therefore, they frequently hold "price reduction promotions," sometimes even daily.

These weight-loss products that deliberately focus on price share some common characteristics: low technological content. They either use drugs whose patents have expired or rely on outdated formulas with little new technology. Another issue is manipulating drug costs. Taking traditional Chinese medicine as an example, different origins of herbs, extraction methods, and purity all affect the content of effective ingredients, thus impacting weight-loss efficacy. Furthermore, drug purity directly relates to side effects and safety. Don't focus solely on price when buying weight-loss products. Without guaranteed efficacy, spending even a small amount of money is a waste and may even harm your health-a truly unwise choice.

3. The ingenious mixing of banned substances is truly astonishing.

Playing the price game alone is a low-level tactic; some cheap weight-loss products go much further. These low-priced, off-brand weight-loss products generally have low technological content and their effectiveness is hard to guarantee. Even if they're sold cheaply, they can only fool people temporarily. Some shrewd merchants then focus on the drug ingredients. They add banned Western medicines to their weight-loss products. These ingredients are mostly chemicals that are explicitly prohibited by national health authorities. While they may have a weight-loss effect, they pose a significant threat to human health and are therefore banned by the state.

4. Holding multiple batch numbers, switching to another if one fails.

The ragtag businesses scrambling for profits in the weight-loss industry know full well that relying solely on tricks and adulteration with banned substances won't guarantee long-term survival; they constantly face the risk of being shut down. But for every clever scheme, there's a countermeasure. Some "shrewd" merchants have devised even more sophisticated methods. They typically hold three or four weight-loss product approval numbers, or simply repackage the same product under different names, registering multiple trademarks. If one product is shut down or consumers discover the deception and it stops selling, they immediately switch to another, repackaging the old formula and continuing to sell, enjoying another wave of success.

5. Incomplete procedures make it difficult to enter through formal channels; connections and interests are used to gain access.

Currently, there are two main types of weight-loss products: one is weight-loss functional food with a health food approval number (卫食健康字号), and the other is weight-loss medicine with a drug approval number (药准字号). To become one of these legitimate weight-loss products, it must undergo rigorous scrutiny by the national health department and the drug administration, requiring relevant departmental experimental reports, enterprise standards, toxicology and pharmacology testing, and approval certificates, before it can be officially sold on the market. However, how can some hastily cobbled-together weight-loss products sold at street stalls withstand so many tests? Even if some street stall products have approvals, the procedures are incomplete, lacking various documents. Logically, such products should not be sold through legitimate channels, but some pharmacy owners, driven by connections or profit, make exceptions. As a result, many weight-loss products with incomplete documentation have brazenly entered legitimate channels, and even some weight-loss products whose approval numbers have been explicitly revoked have slipped into the market, making it difficult to distinguish the genuine from the fake.

6. Promote what consumers desire.

This is a common tactic used by unscrupulous merchants. They don't advertise the actual effects of their products; instead, they accurately predict consumer desires and exaggerate weight-loss efficacy, resorting to any means necessary. We often see claims like "Lose 5 kilograms in three days," or "Lose 5 centimeters instantly," and even claims like "No diarrhea, no hunger, no anorexia, no fatigue, no dieting, no exercise, no excess skin, no pain, fast results, no rebound..." They practically claim it's a secret formula bestowed by God, an absolutely perfect product. When did weight loss become so easy? If you can lose 5 centimeters after just one dose, wouldn't your waistline disappear in three or five doses? However, it's true that many consumers are eager to lose weight, wanting to shed all their fat in a day or two without any side effects.

Fat doesn't accumulate overnight, and weight loss requires a scientific and reasonable approach. To avoid being scammed, consumers must first have a scientific attitude towards weight loss. After seeing so many deceptive tricks, many consumers may be wary. So, how should one choose weight loss products?

In fact, most weight loss brands operate in a fairly standardized manner, and relevant national departments are increasing their supervision and penalties. When purchasing weight loss products, it's essential to go through legitimate channels. Generally, reputable department stores and pharmacies have relatively strict regulations. At the same time, when choosing weight loss products, pay attention to brand reputation, technological advancements, and credibility.