Nutrisystem: too good to be true?

In class, we talked about how commercials are aired but not necessarily reliable. Take the Lipitor commercial for example, it states the spokesperson is a doctor. We found in class he isn’t truly licensed in the US. There are several commercials aired every day, promoting different drugs and prescriptions encouraging people to buy these “helpful” drugs. People see these commercials and assume they are reliable because they see a familiar face, or its stated that the spokesperson is a licensed doctor. These drugs aren’t always good for us to be consuming though. If people would go ask their doctors, they could have all their questions answered. Doctors are familiar with our history, commercials aren’t.

Another example is the Nutrisystem commercials. These commercials use Marie Osmond as their spokesperson, making the viewer feel they can trust it. This works because she is a familiar face. One of the newest commercials starts out with her holding a photo and she explains that pictures will show your every flaw weight wise (pictures don’t lie). The commercials will always show before and after pictures of people who have tried this “amazing” weight loss supplement. They advertise things like “Want to look good in that little black dress?” Black tends to be slimming on the body anyway! The viewers don’t know if the people using the product subjected themselves to ONLY using this product though. They could have used the product and worked out for an hour a day or work out twice a day. The viewers just don’t know the true facts behind this weight loss program.

Going to your doctor would reduce the risks that could come with buying these products. People are essentially buying blind when they buy products like Nutrisystem. You are only buying what you see on the commercials or what people are telling you. Doctors are the only people that truly know if these products are possibly good or harmful to put in your body.

Haley Wright