The Food and Drug Administration has accused the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company of using misleading advertising in its promotion of Lap-Band weight-loss surgery, saying the billboard, radio and television ads underplay serious risks to patients.
The billboards, plastered across Southern California freeways, display the smiling faces of thin people and catchy phrases about the benefits of Lap-Band surgery. There are warnings about the risks, but the typeface is so small it's not legible, the FDA said. On the radio, the company uses a catchy jingle, and recently included the endorsement of celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky.
Five Southern California Lap-Band patients have died since 2009 after surgeries at centers affiliated with the advertising campaign, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records.
This is how desperate we are to lose weight.
And yet people still believe we choose to be fat.
