Harvard Med Grad Pitches Iffy Diet Pill

ByABC News via logo
June 3, 2004, 7:08 PM

June 15, 2004 -- Anyone who has struggled to lose weight can't help perking up at the promises made in the commercials for Propolene, touted as a pill that is proven to help people lose weight without diet or exercise.

"Dramatic weight loss can now be achieved without diet or exercise," the commercial boasts. "Propolene — scientifically proven to reduce weight without special diet and exercise."

The product, aimed at those who are 20 pounds or more overweight, sounds like a huge breakthrough for America's overweight majority. The person pitching the product sounds impressive, too: Jonathan Kelley, M.D., a Harvard Medical School graduate.

But closer inspection raises some questions. Kelley really did graduate Harvard Medical School in 1968 and he still has a medical license in California. But he acknowledged to Good Morning America that he is an anesthesiologist, not a weight loss expert.

Dr. George Blackburn, a professor at Harvard Medical School, was disappointed to learn that Kelley was promoting Propolene.

"This is shameful," said Blackburn. After watching the commercial, he was even more disappointed.

"He should know better," Blackburn said. "This is really sad."

The products claims are blatantly untrue, he said. The Federal Trade Commission did not comment on Propolene specifically, but says that advertisements claiming that a product can bring about any substantial weight loss without diet or exercise are bogus, and should be a red flag to consumers.

Claims Can't Be True

"Claims that you can lose substantial amounts of weight without diet and exercise cannot possibly be true," said Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

There are testimonials in the Propolene commercial, in which alleged users claim, "The pounds just fell off," "I lost 25 pounds in six weeks," and "This pill will work."

But such dramatic weight loss claims ring false to experts, who say that the typical overweight person on a diet can safely lose only about one to two pounds a week.