FDA Issues Warning On Weight-Loss Belt

An electric heating-pad-style device touted as a way to help sweat off pounds has been recalled because it has seriously burned some people, the Food and Drug Administration said. Personal Electro-Saunas, also called the Moulding Body Electrical Body Belts, were recalled by a Miami company that goes by the names Body Fitness Inc. and TV Store Corp., the agency said. Consumers who purchased the devices should stop using them immediately, it said. The devices were sold nationwide--without FDA approval--via television, mostly on Latino channels. The product resembles a heating pad and can be wrapped around the waist, thighs or arms. The company had failed to report serious customer injuries in violation of federal law, the agency said. One user suffered second-degree burns over the entire midsection of the body when the pad caught fire, it said. The company hotline, staffed with Spanish-speaking employees, runs from 6 to 10 a.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, (800) 366-9940.