mary engel with the ftc was also among the witnesses. senator claire mccaskill chairs the hour and 40 minute hearing. [inaudible conversations] >> the witnesses can feel free to go ahead and take a seat, and we'll begin with some opening statements and then move to your testimony. this hearing will now come to order. we have all herald and seen the ads promising quick and substantial weight loss if only you take this pill, drink this shake, use this device or apply this cream. all without adjusting diet or increasing physical activity. it seems too good to be true and, of course, it is. we have a short clip of some of these ads that have run on television, satellite radio, online and in print that i'm going to play so it is clear what we are talking about today. and it will -- >> it's called sensa, the amazing new writtenically proven seven -- clinically proven sensation that you sprinkle on to take the weight off. whether you need to lose 10 pounds, 50 pounds or more, now you can without dieting. simply sprinkle sensa on, eat all the to

i am mary engel, associate director for advertising practices at the federal trade commission. i am pleased to have the opportunity to provide information regarding the ftc's efforts to combat fraudulent weight loss advertising. as you know, the united states is facing an obesity epidemic. nearly 70% of u.s. adults are overweight or obese. excess weight and obesity are major cribbers to chronic -- contributors to chronic health care costs. so it isn't surprising that there's strong interest in products that claim to promote weight loss. unfortunately, where there is strong consumer interest with, fraud often follows. in the ftc's 2011 survey of consumer fraud, we found out more consumers were victims of fraudulent weight loss products than any of the other specific frauds that we surveyed. despite the continuing boom in the weight loss industry, there exists very little scientific evidence that pills and supplements alone can help one lose a significant amount of weight. scientists agree that the foundation of successful weight loss is to eat a healthful, calorie-controlled die

mary engel with the ftc was also among the witnesses.ator claire mccaskill chairs the hour and 40 minute

mary engel is the associate director of the advertising practices within the ftc bureau of consumer protection. i applaud the work to shut down the scam artists and look forward to learning more about the commission's success this year in bringing the series of cases under the agency's existing section authority. against a number of companies engaged in deceptive advertising of weight-loss products. also look forward to hearing about how the commission is applying its reasonable basis standard for substantiated health claims including weight-loss and what it considers to be reliable evidence. it's pursued more in the recent degrees and an open question whose requirements are made to apply or the ftc followed the procedural requirements to apply new standards and whether the standard is consistent with constitutional protection of free speech. i would also like to welcome doctor oz today. the show debuted in 2009 which is roughly 3 million viewers every day. i look forward to hearing from doctor oz on what steps he's taking to ensure the information he shares in conversations he moderates provi