[net.consumers] Herbalife: Lose weight now, ask me how!

ned@SCIRTP.UUCP (Ned Robie) (07/24/85)

>                                             Is it really advantageous to
> use there products or is it just another health-food scam (ie, you'd be
> better off eating a balanced diet)?  Do they conduct there business ethically
> or is it headed for trouble ala Amway?
> 
> Mike Clifford 

I saw parts of a congressional hearing concerning Herbalife on C-SPAN
a while ago.  My impressions are that while the ingredients of their
products are not dangerous, they have questionable weight-reduction
value.  Claims that many people have lost weight on the program are true,
but the weight reduction is proabably more attributable to the changed
mental attitudes of the participants with respect to eating habits,
exercise, etc.  That is, the PROGRAM appears to help people lose weight
while the products (formulas) do little in and of themselves.

The Herbalife products contain *natural* ingredients such as herbs and
vitamin supplements.  It was found that the formula that *revitalized*
contained a hefty amount of caffeine as well.  Generally, the formulas
have a diuretic and laxative effect which may indeed make some people
feel better, but they don't offer any new breakthroughs in weight control.
It's the program that seems to work, which is stressed by Herbalife
when confronted.

In my opinion, Herbalife is like Overeaters Anonymous with the added
twist of a strong and effective motivating force derived from the
comraderie, peer pressure, competitiveness, and success surrounding the
sales of its products.  I don't see anything wrong with that -- if it
works, it works.  And it does seem to work.  Also, the formalas do not
contain any known dangerous ingredients.  Herbalife admits that previous
formulas contained questionable ingredients, but they were promptly removed
when the FDA reported their dangers.

I believe the only complaints that can be made against Herbalife are the
use of misleading advertising, the lack of scientific clinical tests of
their products, and the high cost of their products.  Herbalife claims that
that they are addressing the first two problems.  Of course, they feel that
their formulas are worth every penny.  To some people, I guess they are.

Before I get flamed for all of this, let me say that I am NOT an
Herbalifer and never would be no matter how overweight I became.  
That kind of thing is just not for me.  But it may be just the ticket
for someone else.  It was clear to me from the congressional hearings
that much of the negative publicity surrounding Herbalife was centered
on their bogus weight reduction formulas.  But after hearing alot of
testimony, both pro and con, it appears that there's more to Herbalife
than the products.  The fact that many people have lost weight under
the program with no statistically significant adverse effects must be
taken into consideration.

-- Ned Robie