Can a Diet Pill Work Without Diet or Exercise?

Jan. 2, 2008 — -- America's obesity struggles have made international headlines in the last several years, and with the new year have come countless slim-down resolutions.

With the vast weight loss industry, people's search for the magic bullet to drop pounds often leads them to buy products with the best, and possibly exaggerated claims.

And now some health-care professionals are voicing concern over one infomercial suggesting easy weight loss without having to work hard through diet and exercise.

"There's no secret remedy that has been buried for all these decades. I promise you, if there were something good, we'd all know about it. It would be on the front page of the newspaper. We'd all be using it and they wouldn't have to promote it on television," said George Washington University Weight Management Program medical director Arthur Frank.

Yet, commercials promising weight loss with a mere pill pop continue to woo customers' wallets and fuel the $55 billion U.S. weight loss market, according to Marketdata Enterprises.

One popular product whose commercials regularly air late at night may not be delivering on its promises, according to at least one dissatisfied customer.

"I believe it's money wasted," said one woman who said the diet pill Lipozene was ineffective. "I didn't see the results that I thought I would be getting." She asked that her identity be concealed.

The price isn't cheap. One month's supply cost ABC News $81.77.

"When you're looking to lose weight and you're putting your hopes into a product, you want it to be a viable product," the woman added.

Lipozene makes incredible claims and has generated much hype. Its infomercial suggests people can eat what they want without changing their lifestyles and still lose weight.

"It's a miracle, I swear it is," says one person quoted on the commercial. "I just ate what I wanted and I lost weight. & Being able to lose the weight without having to really work hard is really fantastic. I loved it."