NEW YORK–The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus referred advertising for the Okappa Slim weight-loss supplement to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for further review, after the company declined to participate in an NAD review of its advertising claims.
Claims at issue, including claims that appeared in a large two-page color spread advertisement in Body + Soul Magazine, included:
- “Here’s how I lost 33 pounds in little more than 1 month without exercise and I ate whatever I wanted!”
- “She told me she had lost 33 pounds in just under a month. She didn’t have to follow a diet and really didn’t have to do anything in particular. All she did was take her plant extract capsules every day for one month. That’s all.”
- “All I had to do was to take one capsule a day. That’s all! No effort, or diet restrictions. And after just 3 days, I had already lost 7 pounds!”
- “I was losing two pounds a day! After 2 weeks I had lost 22 pounds and in one month I was 33 pounds lighter.”
- “More than 6 months has gone by and I haven’t put any weight back on at all, and I’ve never been happier.”
- “A group of researchers have succeeded, after numerous tests carried out in laboratories and after years of study, to find the perfect combination of plants that reverse the effect of calories. Instead of transforming calories into fat, this blend makes sure that it’s being burned naturally and transformed into energy, eliminating the calories. The combination of plants is known as the Okappa Slimming treatment and causes the fastest loss of weight ever seen with a 100% natural treatment.”
- “In fact, in nearly every case we have seen and in our studies, we have found weight losses of up to 14 pounds in a week. The average loss of weight has been about 7 pounds per week.”
The advertiser, represented by Direct Marketing Clearinghouse Inc., stated it would not participate in NAD’s inquiry. NAD noted it was disappointed by the advertiser’s position, particularly in light of the strong health and weight-loss claims at issue. Based on the advertiser’s refusal to participate in the NAD inquiry, pursuant to Section 2.10(B) of the NAD/CARU/NARB Procedures, NAD will refer this matter to the FTC and FDA for further review.