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" Consumers are wasting billions of pounds on food products that claim to aid weight loss but are not backed by any scientific evidence, an expert has claimed. Writing in the British Medical Journal, nutritional expert Professor Mike Lean from the University of Glasgow claims that many such products are totally ineffective. Food products that are marketed for health reasons are not currently subject to stringent research trials in the same ways as medicines, meaning that consumers can easily be misled. However, Professor Lean said that the new European Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices will hopefully protect consumers who are tricked into buying ineffective food products or supplements. He writes: &amp;#039;Nothing justifies the commercial exploitation of vulnerable patients with quack medicines. &amp;#039;The regulations may even help with the bigger battle to prevent obesity, by prohibiting advertisements across the EU that encourage children to buy energy-dense products or to pester their parents to buy them.&amp;#039; Professor Lean revealed that \u00A322 billion was spent on weight loss products in the US in 2000, with seven per cent of the population buying such products every year. \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a17446/billions-wasted-on-quack-health-food-products/>