The 5 Worst Celebrity-Endorsed Fitness Products

In 2013, Dr. Mehmet Oz got himself into some serious hot water. The board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show raved to viewers about a “revolutionary” new fat buster called garcinia cambogia. But years before Oz recommended the supplement, also known as hydroxycitric acid, scientists concluded it was no better for weight and fat loss than a placebo.

As researcher Edzard Ernst, an expert in complementary and alternative medicine, told Slate, “Dr. Oz’s promotion of this and other unproven or disproven alternative treatments is irresponsible and borders on quackery.” 

Besides garcinia cambogia, Oz also promoted several other too-good-to-be-true supplements to audiences. The makers of one of these supposed weight loss tools, Pure Green Coffee, was eventually sued by the Federal Trade Commission for making bogus claims. Oz himself faced scrutiny when Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called him to testify at a hearing on weight-loss scams and fraudulent endorsements he made on his show.

During the hearing, Oz admitted to using “flowery” and “passionate” language and said that the products he endorses often “don’t have the scientific muster to pass as fact.” Yikes. 

The Kardashians have faced controversy even before they became household names, but in 2010, Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney, took flak for endorsing one specific diet product that set off legal action. New York-based law firm Bursor & Fisher filed a $5 million lawsuit on behalf of four customers who claimed QuickTrim didn’t deliver on its weight-loss claims and said the company’s marketing was “false, misleading, and unsubstantiated.” 

While there was no scientific evidence to back up the assertion that these “cleansing” and “detoxifying” pills and powders actually aided weight loss, there was research to indicate that they could cause harm. A study published in The Journal of Family Practice declared these kinds of cleansing products can cause numerous adverse effects ranging from mild symptoms like cramping to severe problems like kidney failure.

Though the lawsuit was later dismissed, customers who bought QuickTrim products were awarded a 50 percent refund on purchases, and QuickTrim was ordered to redesign its labeling and packaging “to restate the nature of its products and its benefits.”

Check out the commerial here. 

Instagram star and former personal trainer Brock O’Hurn certainly isn’t the only celebrity who has peddled “detox” tea on social media (Kardashian hanger-on Scott Disick memorably screwed up his sponsored post’s caption and lifted the endorsement veil in 2016). In 2015, O’Hurn, aka the “King of the Man Bun” (which is a questionable style endorsement in itself), began to promote MateFit Teatox. MateFit is one of many teas that claims to “flush all the impurities out of your body, cleansing your liver, kidneys, blood and colon” and “help you lose weight and feel super charged.” 

But while scientific research is scant on the effects of these products, health experts say that if consuming them causes the number on the scale to dip, it’s likely due to loss of water weight since many have diuretic or laxative effects. Some products also contain caffeine, which may cause a temporary metabolism boost, but overall, the products aren’t believed to lead to any lasting weight changes. 

More troubling is the fact that these products are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so, as Halegoua-De Marzio, assistant professor of medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, told CNN, “Really, they can put anything they want in these teas. They can make any claim that they want, and it doesn’t have to be supported by any evidence. That makes these very, very dangerous.”

The reality family really has left a mark when it comes to questionable product endorsements. In 2014, Kim began enthusiastically posting photos of herself sporting a corset device with hashtags like “hourglass #waistraining #nophotoshopnecessary.” Sister Khloe modeled a holiday-themed waist trainer two years later, clearly demarcating the sponsored post with #ad, and new mom Kylie Jenner claimed, “Waistgang has the BEST quality snap back products,” in a post-baby Instagram post. And before you think these trainers are just for women, think again. 

While the claims vary from company to company, many waist trainer brands purport targeted weight loss in the waist, the creation of an hourglass figure, and/or the purging of “toxins.” But while the tight garments may temporarily compress the body or cause water weight loss through sweat, experts are adamant that customers won’t experience true changes to their body composition simply by slipping on a corset. In fact, waist trainers may even create serious complications for some users, compromising breathing, increasing the risk for heartburn and indigestion, and possibly squeezing internal organs. 

Although his wife at the time, Madonna, apparently took issue with the weight loss method’s effect on his sex drive, director Guy Ritchie reportedly loved Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet, which promotes sticking to 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day, 500 of which come from the brand’s “hunger-controlling” treats. When Madonna shared the story of Ritchie’s success with the program (and its unexpected “side effect”), founder Dr. Sanford Siegel reported that sales spiked. Other celebrities to try the program included Snooki, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Hudson, and Kelly Clarkson.

While the company assures customers “there are no failures at that caloric level,” when it comes to weight loss, experts have expressed concern that the regimen overlooks the importance of establishing sustainable, healthy habits. As Dr. Stuart Fischer, author of The Park Avenue Diet, told Good Morning America, subsisting on such a small amount of calories can actually backfire. “The body goes into a starvation state,” he said. “And it holds onto every morsel and calorie until the person’s weight goes higher than it was before.”