Feds’ Gut Reaction: Ab Gadgets Don’t Work

It’s long been the definition of ultimate physical fitness: perfect abs.

But in recent months, a chiseled gut has been dangled in front of even couch potatoes. A no-pain, no-effort “six-pack” is just a credit card purchase and an electrical outlet away--or so promised the buff infomercial hawkers of electronic abdominal belts.

It sounded too good to be true. And it was, federal regulators said Wednesday.

They filed lawsuits in California and Nevada this week against the makers and distributors of three highly popular devices--the AB Energizer, AbTronic and Fast Abs--alleging that the companies had engaged in false and deceptive advertising.

“Here’s the pitch: With the touch of a button you’ll go from flabby abs to rock-hard abs without breaking a sweat,” Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy J. Muris said at a news conference, where he was flanked by boxes of the belts labeled “As seen on TV.”

“Unfortunately, though, these electronic ab gadgets don’t do a thing to turn a bulging beer belly into a sleek six-pack muscled stomach,” he added.

The government is seeking a permanent injunction to halt advertisements that include claims it alleges are false. In addition, FTC officials are asking for an unspecified sum of money to reimburse consumers hurt by the companies’ alleged violations.

Fast Abs considers the charges inaccurate, a lawyer for the company said. A spokeswoman for AB Energizer said the firm will work with the FTC to resolve the charges. AbTronic officials could not be reached for comment.

The belts, which promise to electronically contract muscles, have been purchased by more than 3 million Americans to the tune of well over $100 million, federal officials estimate. They cost between $40 and $120 each.

The cable TV ads for each of the three devices were among the 10 most frequently broadcast infomercials of last year, federal regulators said. The ubiquitous 30-minute testimonials featured fitness professionals making claims that are not backed up by research or science, they added.

Some months ago, the “siren call” of a Fast Abs infomercial sucked in John Iwaniszek, a 42-year-old statistical consultant in Raleigh, N.C., who said he’s in “reasonable shape.”

“I was hypnotized,” he said, “and I’m not usually susceptible to that kind of stuff. But I thought, you know, I have some money; let’s see if it works. There was probably more than a little midlife crisis going on too.”

Iwaniszek says he is “not disappointed” in his machine.

“I didn’t use it long enough to see profound results,” he said. “It’s uncomfortable. You have to smooth on this jelly and it hurts, but as far as I’m concerned it does what they told me it would: It stimulates the muscles.”

Food and Drug Administration officials said the muscle stimulation felt by ab-belt users might help tone the muscles of people unable to exercise, such as stroke victims, but it won’t produce the desired washboard stomach.

“A claim they might be able to make would be along the lines that [using their device] would increase your ability to do sit-ups,” said David Feigal, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

Backers of one of the products disputed the government’s case.

Jeffrey Knowles, an attorney representing Fast Abs, said his clients believe that the charges are inaccurate.

“I think consumers are sophisticated enough to know that pressing a single button won’t get them these results,” said Knowles, adding that Fast Abs was marketed as a weight-loss system that included other steps.

Knowles said Fast Abs, which sold for about $40, has been off the market for about two months, forced out by cheaper, off-the-drugstore-shelf products that made similar claims.

Karen Hutchins, a spokeswoman for AB Energizer, said the suit marked the first request the company had received from the FTC for substantiation. “We look forward to presenting the merits of the AB Energizer to the FTC and working with them to resolve their concerns,” she said.

Muris said the FTC’s decision to go after ab-belt companies marks the first step in what will be an aggressive campaign to halt false and deceptive claims made by the multibillion-dollar diet and exercise industry.

“We are attacking these products as fraud and deception. They don’t work,” Muris said.

Fitness professionals say shortcut solutions have always had a big audience.

“A lot of diet programs say ‘Lose 10 pounds in 24 hours,’ ” said Larry Krug, a fitness trainer at Crunch Los Angeles, a Sunset Boulevard gym. “If someone tells you that if you invest $100 today you could make $1 million tomorrow, no one would believe it. But when it comes to diet and fitness, people are so desperate.

“You can do ab exercises all day as hard as you like, and unless you eat correctly they will never show,” said Krug, 33. “Look at it this way: The average man has 18% body fat. At 12% body fat he might have some definition in his stomach. At 10% it would really show.”

And, he pointed out, “55% of Americans are obese.”