Ab Glider maker to pay $3 million for bogus ad claims

Icon Health and Fitness has agreed to pay $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated an earlier order by advertising that use of its exercise equipment for three minutes a day would result in significant weight loss.

The 1997 administrative order against Icon and its related entities prohibited the marketers from making unproven claims about the potential weight loss from the exercise equipment.

Between 2010 and 2013, Icon ran several types of ads making weight-loss claims for the Ab Glider, according to an FTC lawsuit.

The advertisements, featuring television personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck and other consumer endorsers, claimed that using the Ab Glider alone or using the Ab Glider for only three minutes a day would lead to lost pounds, inches, or clothing sizes.

The FTC lawsuit states that consumers achieved these results by being on a controlled diet, using the Ab Glider for more than three minutes a day, and engaging in additional exercise.

“The FTC is committed to protecting consumers from bogus weight-loss claims, whether they’re for dietary supplements, exercise equipment, or any other type of product,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Just because time has passed since an order was entered, doesn’t mean a manufacturer can ignore the order and return to its old tricks.”

Copyright 2014, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

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