Everyone wants to be healthier, and many out there sell things they claim will help. Consumers must be attentive, as some wellness-vendors use a variety of tactics to sell us on products and services that lack evidence.
“It is health that is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Increasing demand for better health
People around the world, especially those in wealthier countries, have a distinct and growing infatuation with living longer and healthier lives. We seek to do away with the burdens of our human condition; wanting to thwart ageing, alleviate pain, and cure or prevent all disease and injury. For some this is as simple as making a few healthier choices at the grocery store and exercising regularly; for others this can mean taking on more radical measures such as long-term fasting or bee-sting therapy.
The demand for better health and well-being is met with a seemingly infinite supply of wellness-purveyors claiming they have solutions. Health and wellness-related goods and services were estimated to represent an $11 trillion global market in 2018.1 Amidst this vast marketplace, there are several professionals offering evidence-based treatment, products, and advice that one can reasonably trust to lead them to better health. At the same time, the industry is also saturated with poorly-supported, misleading, and straight-up fraudulent vendors that fool consumers into wasting money on useless and/or risky practices with no backing from quality research.2
These deceptive brands take great care in giving the appearance of being trustworthy and scientifically sound, making it difficult for people to discern their true nature. Consumers are protected to some degree by governing bodies in place to regulate health claims vendors can use for marketing, such as Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Unfortunately, these organizations lack the capacity to perfectly monitor every corner of the health and wellness market, and many vendors are able to skirt regulations to give consumers a false impression of the proven effectiveness of their product.
The 6 Red flags
To help you sniff out trickery while looking for ways to improve your health and wellness, here are six red flags that should raise some skepticism. These are not infallible signs of being misled, but when encountered it may be wise to take a step back and be extra critical of what you’re being told.
1. The ‘perfect’ product.
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any product or service that claims multiple significant health benefits. A supplement claiming to shred fat, build muscle, decrease appetite, increase energy, decrease stress, improve mood, cure baldness, and grant you the power of invisibility, is unlikely to do all or perhaps any of those things well.
There are also very few effective remedies out there that will work for everyone or that come without risks or side-effects. Vendors who make no mention of these limitations, or who blatantly downplay them, may not have your best interests in mind.
2. Attractive images in place of actual claims.
The association of products and desirable imagery is a marketing tactic perhaps as old as marketing itself. Through carefully crafted pictures and illustrations, vendors seek to solidify a connection between their product and a positive lifestyle. “Want to be happy? Want to be healthy? Look at how happy and healthy these people using our products are!”
An image of an absurdly in-shape model performing a certain exercise program, or consuming a certain product, may inherently suggest a relationship between that and their fitness. However, be mindful of whether or not the vendor explicitly states that relationship. What has this product been proven to do? As a consumer you want to spend your money on something research indicates is likely to work for you, not just what a vendor places alongside something you want in an ad.
3. A complicated physiology lesson.
In an effort to appear transparent and to convince consumers of their effectiveness, many vendors will use detailed descriptions, diagrams, and videos explaining exactly how their product or service influences the body. This can be effective for noble purposes when doctors want to convey to patients the nature of their condition and how different treatments may help, but in the hands of those with a profit motive there becomes great potential for consumers to be misinformed or misled.
Vendors will often use recognizable terms and processes, perhaps vaguely recalled from high school biology class or an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and meld them with pseudoscience making their product seem sensible. Consumers with partial understanding of these concepts are perhaps the most at risk, as they may convince themselves that this aligns with information they’ve heard from other trustworthy sources. It’s generally unwise to let the same person selling you a health remedy educate you on the nature of the human body. If you rely on salespeople’s version of physiology, you are doomed to purchase effectively anything they choose to sell you.
4. Product scarcity or time constraints.
Another tactic common of many marketing agents is to create urgency to buy. For example, claims of “Only three spots left!” or “Sale ends today!”. These are effective for a variety of reasons. The idea of few remaining products conveys that many others have already purchased it, indicating popularity and thus elevated worth and trustworthiness. Limited time to purchase forces consumers to make a quick decision, reducing their ability to critically consider all aspects of what they’re purchasing. In cases of scarcity and time constraint, consumers are pressured by the fear of missing out on what might be a great thing for their health.
When faced with these situations, firstly consider the context. Do you find it likely the salesperson is genuinely trying to help you, specifically you, by ensuring you don’t miss out on their product? If it’s truly likely to sell out so quickly, why should they be concerned with whether or not you immediately purchase it? Don’t let a manufactured urgency to buy prevent you from critical consideration of the product. Seek advice about the product from your social network, or consult a trusted source of health information online. Any vendor that functions to prevent you from doing so before spending your money is unlikely to be in your corner.
5. Emphasis on positive testimonials and endorsements.
Recommendations from respected others, such as friends, family, or accredited experts, are among the strongest forces out there to drive a purchase. We appreciate and act on advice from people we know we can trust. In order to mimic that effect through marketing, vendors often make use of customer testimonials, expert reviews, and celebrity endorsements to boost the reputation of their product to consumers.
Firstly, note that customer testimonials hosted on the vendor’s own website or ads are at best hand-selected by the vendor itself, and at worst completely fabricated. Even external review websites that seemingly solve this bias are not impervious to manipulation by businesses, so take these with a grain of salt. In the case of published celebrity or expert endorsements, take these with an even larger grain of salt unless explicitly stated that they are not receiving compensation. You can still appreciate these individuals while recognizing opinions that they’re receiving large sums of corporate money to have are relatively moot.
6. “It’s better because it’s natural”.
Medical researchers have worked tirelessly to find ways to improve the length and quality of human life. Luckily for all of us this work has not been in vain, as we have seen lethal illnesses made curable, gruesome injuries made treatable, and a steadily growing global life expectancy. In these ways we have bested nature; we have used our collective intellect to solve the many hardships and miseries it thrusts upon us. All of this to say, there is nothing inherently better or healthier about humans returning to their ‘natural’ state or using ‘natural’ remedies.
Many consumers conflate the word ‘natural’ with being harmless or without side-effects, and thus healthier than other treatment options. Hemlock and poison ivy originate directly from the Earth, yet those who have consumed them (and lived) would be quick to tell you that side effects can be plentiful. Beware any seller that touts the ‘naturalness’ of a remedy as a selling point.
If you find yourself questioning whether a health and wellness product or service will benefit you, the smartest thing you can do as a consumer is to consult your doctor. When investing your hard-earned money into your health, you deserve an effective, scientifically-sound, evidence-based outcome and a transparent transaction.
About Brad
Bradley Crocker is a PhD student studying Health Psychology in the Theories and Interventions in Exercise and Health Psychology Lab at McGill University. Please follow Brad on Twitter for relevant research and opinions he shares.
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These are great tools, this was an enjoyable read!
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