The weight-loss/slimming sector guidelines for ads

In terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, all products (including those in the complementary sector) which make any reference to slimming properties must be registered with the MCC. That can be a lengthy process; while we wait, the MCC has asked that all players voluntarily adopt the MCC's code of what's acceptable, as well as the current Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Code of Advertising Practice.

1. All affected advertising has to be checked by publishers before it can be accepted - at least 7 days' leeway is recommended for new ads. To facilitate checking, the advertiser or agency should submit full substantiation for all claims. Independent testimony will be required from SA-registered medical practitioners as to any physiological effects claimed. Testimonials from users don't count; should a testimonial form part of the copy of the ad, it must be capable of substantiation. If "before" and "after" photographs are used, the originals must be dated and signed.

The Association for Communication Agencies offers a pre-clearance and advisory service (Tel: 011-781-2772, Prof Piet Delport): Shape urges advertising partners to make use of that service.

2. Diet plans (by themselves or adjunct to other products) need to provide evidence that the suggested diet(s) will provide adequate proteins, vitamins and minerals (see Gov Notice R.908 of1977), and that the diet is capable of achieving the results claimed. Diet plans need to provide at least 4 200 kJ daily; be balanced and be planned by a registered dietician. In the case of meal replacement powders, they also need to provide at least 120g carbs a day.

3. The Code doesn't cover all eventualities, but it does specify that both the letter and the spirit should govern creative, so there is little room to manoeuvre.

4. What must happen
  • Only products or regimes which achieve permanent loss of excess fat, can make claims to weight loss. Others (e.g. those that achieve water loss) are not allowed to make this claim.
  • All diet-related ads must include:
    - the (prominently displayed) information that they can only be effective when taken in conjunction with or as part of a kilojoule-controlled diet; and
    - where appropriate, details as to how foods offered as diet aids contribute, e.g. whether the particular food is lower in kJ on a mass for mass basis.
  • In ads for meal substitutes, there should be no implication that it is effective if eaten in addition to, rather than instead of, normal meals.
  • As dietary aids only contribute partially to nutritional requirements, the name (not to be confused with the brand) must always be a true description eg. "fibre supplement" with the words "with a balanced kJ-restricted diet" printed in equal type size and prominence.
  • If mass loss goals are quantified, the amount may not exceed 1kg a week.
  • Testimonials must be genuine and original and still apply.
5. Beware
  • Overmass in young people is sometimes associated with a defective action of the glands and it is, therefore, desirable that they should be advised to consult their doctors before embarking upon a slimming diet.
  • Ads for appetite depressants are banned UNLESS there's evidence it is safe and effective at the level of consumption suggested. In any case, claims may not be expressed in terms of food equivalent e.g. "equal to two eggs and ham".
  • Ads promising cm loss MUST make clear this does not equate to mass loss
6. Banned
  • Anything that refers to obesity (that's a condition requiring medical attention and treatment).
  • Any suggestion that a diet contains any ingredient or that foods have particular properties which can speed metabolic processes, causing fat to be "burnt up"
  • Advertisements for "crash" diets
  • Exaggerated claims of centimetre loss e.g. "3.6cm lost in one visit".
  • Any suggestion that other, similar products do not comply with the Act e.g. "Product X is safe"; and "Contains no harmful substitutes with side effects"
  • Any implication that this product is a medicine i.e. interferes with the normal physiology of the body, e.g. "Product X increases/speeds up metabolism"; "... melts fat away"; "... makes fat cells shrink"; "... contains bio-active ingredients".
  • Claims for "fat busting" or any wording to this effect.
  • Claims such as "Helps you slim fast" and "Easy weight loss" etc
  • Ads for "slimming tea"
  • Any claim that fibre per se causes weight loss e.g. "Fewer kilojoules are absorbed by the body.” No reference may be made to curbing or blunting the appetite. One can't claim that "dietary fibre slows the absorption of glucose in your bloodstream", unless the diet contains enough fibre to substantiate that.
Shape reserves the right to repeatedly alert its readers to the fact that it supports weight loss attained through a balanced combination of healthy eating and exercise, and does not endorse products which claim effortless, instant or chemically-induced results.

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