If I told you there was a way to lose weight easily without dieting or exercising, would you be excited? In recent years, there has been a “Internet celebrity slimming capsule” appearing on some e-commerce platforms, with impressive sales figures. The merchants claim that just by taking one on an empty stomach, you can burn fat and slim down. Are such weight-loss products reliable?
In recent years, with the development of the economy and the improvement of living standards, the number of obese people in China is continuing to increase. According to the latest data from the “Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents (2020)”, more than half of the adult residents in China are overweight or obese. At the same time, the rates of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 6-17 and under 6 years old are also not low, at 19% and 10.4% respectively.
Consumer Ms. Cai: Look at my body, you can tell that I am also somewhat overweight. I don’t usually exercise much, and I love to eat, I’m not the kind of person who exercises regularly. So, maybe the effect of losing weight is not particularly ideal, not particularly good.
In recent years, there has been a variety of slimming foods on the market, leaving consumers bewildered. Are these products really effective? What impact do they have on health, making it difficult for the average consumer to discern.
Reporter investigations have found that in summer and autumn, the peak season for weight loss, the number of weight-loss patients in major hospitals has surged. Recently, reporters visited the Fifth Medical Center of the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital. The doctors here told reporters that in recent years, there has been an increasing number of consumers with weight loss needs, and some incorrect methods of weight loss not only do not help in losing weight, but may also harm consumers’ health.
Director of the Endocrinology Department at the Fifth Medical Center of the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Mr. Fang Yi: Some people may promote weight loss methods that are not scientific or recommended. Some weight loss methods advocate eating a particular food or a few foods to lose weight, such as the commonly heard apple diet, cucumber diet, where these methods actually result in an imbalanced nutrition intake, and over time, may even lead to loss of appetite.
Among the patients treated daily, Director Fang Yi found that many patients had come for medical treatment after experiencing discomfort due to the use of weight loss products with unknown ingredients.
Director of the Endocrinology Department at the Fifth Medical Center of the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Mr. Fang Yi: We often see some women who are already very healthy in terms of height and weight, claiming to be losing weight recently. Perhaps they have taken some special weight loss pills, and the ingredients of these weight loss pills are not very clear. In the end, the patients experience symptoms like palpitations, insomnia, high blood pressure. Upon examination, it is revealed that the level of thyroid hormones in their bodies has been affected.
Not long ago, a consumer named Ms. Chen from Zhengzhou, Henan, bought a so-called slimming capsule from an online store named “Jiaojiao Xiaoxiannu”. The webpage advertised it by saying, “One capsule fills you up all-day, suitable for various body types prone to obesity.” The seller also promised, “No rebound in slimming, full refund if ineffective.”
Consumer Ms. Chen: The weight loss pills they recommended involved taking one pill a day on an empty stomach. Basically, one could lose around 10 kilograms in a month, so I wanted to give it a try, and then I placed an order for over twenty pills, spending approximately over 200 yuan.
However, after receiving the package, Ms. Chen experienced symptoms like palpitations and nervous system imbalances after just three days of use.
This is the so-called slimming capsule Ms. Chen purchased online, which is labeled as the “Warner Bros. Brand Tea Polyphenol Lotus Leaf Capsule.”
The prominent position on the outer packaging features the “Blue Hat” logo of health foods and the words “Approved by the China Food and Drug Administration,” along with the label “Health function: weight loss.” The logos and words on the packaging seem to be indicating to consumers that this is a legitimate “health food.” However, the Henan police found several suspicious aspects about this so-called slimming capsule.
Head of the Kuangshan Police Station of the Shangjie District Public Security Bureau in Zhengzhou, Henan, Geng Chuanzheng: Firstly, there is no specific production date on the packaging, and secondly, there is no specific address of production. By searching the registration number of its health food registration record, there is no relevant registration record found, indicating that this product is problematic.
The so-called “Blue Hat” health food logo turned out to be a fake, meanwhile, the product testing results from the lab showed that the slimming capsule contained the banned substance sibutramine. Sibutramine is a central nervous system suppressant that works to increase feelings of physiological fullness in the body and reduce appetite; it was once used in the treatment of obesity.
However, subsequent clinical research found that sibutramine has side effects on the human digestive system, nervous system, and cardiovascular system, with the most prominent impact on the cardiovascular system, which can be life-threatening when severe. Therefore, since 2010, China has prohibited the production, sale, and use of preparations and raw materials containing sibutramine.
Through online shopping and logistics information, the Henan police identified the suspect named Huang who sold the Warner Bros. slimming capsules. The investigation revealed that Huang had no legitimate profession and made a living by selling illegal slimming capsules through an online store, pricing them between 14 yuan to 20 yuan each.
The Henan police told reporters that within six months from the case being reported to the time of apprehension, the suspect Huang had already sold over 30,000 illegal slimming capsules nationwide.
After being apprehended, according to Huang’s confession, all the slimming capsules he sold were wholesale-purchased from a person named Yang in Henan. Subsequently, through technical investigations, the Henan police quickly located the production base of Yang and seized a large quantity of loose capsules, sibutramine raw materials, and capsule shells as packaging materials.
The kitchen of this ordinary house is where Yang illegally produced the slimming capsules. From the photos, one can see that the hygiene conditions are worrying; medicine powder is scattered all over, and the basin and capsule board in the corners are simple tools used to process the finished product.
Head of the Kuangshan Police Station of the Shangjie District Public Security Bureau in Zhengzhou, Henan, Geng Chuanzheng: The powder in the basin is the residual powder that was seized at Yang’s illegal production base. Yang would spread this powder on the capsule board, fill the capsules, then gradually compress them. The environment is very messy, all operations involve manual mixing, filling, and compacting.
After calculations, the cost of producing the illegal slimming capsules for Yang was between 0.4 to 0.6 yuan per pill, they were sold to agents at 1.1 to 1.6 yuan each, yielding a profit of approximately 2 times per pill. The network of Yang’s distribution spanned across many regions in the country; by the time of the incident, Yang had wholesaled over 200,000 illegal slimming capsules.
In this way, toxic capsules produced from the black production site, dressed in different packaging, turned into praised “miracle drugs” for weight loss. Prices skyrocketed from the cost price of 0.4 yuan per pill to 20 yuan per pill at the retail end, marking a 50-fold increase.
Sibutramine is a prohibited substance in food in China. Where did the sibutramine in Yang’s hands come from? After unraveling the network of illegal production and sale of the slimming capsules, the prosecutors intervened in advance and guided the Henan police to further track upstream along the criminal chain.
After appearing in court, Yang admitted that his suppliers would usually arrive in a specific white car from a particular brand in the evening to deliver goods. With this clue in hand, the Henan police spent three days tracing over 600 vehicles passing near the location where he traded, eventually identifying the suppliers Li and Liu as the source of sibutramine.
Head of the Kuangshan Police Station of the Shangjie District Public Security Bureau in Zhengzhou, Henan, Geng Chuanzheng: Li sells sibutramine to the public for between 6000 to 8000 yuan per kilogram. Sibutramine is used to make slimming capsules, with around 50 grams of sibutramine added per thousand slimming capsules, producing around 20,000 pills per kilogram of sibutramine. Li’s customers purchase sibutramine in kilograms and occasionally buy up to six kilograms in a single order. When calculated, a significant number of slimming capsules were produced.
As a result, from the source to wholesale, to the final retail sale, the complete illegal production and sale network of slimming capsules has been dismantled. All eight suspects involved have been sentenced by law.
The so-called slimming “miracle drug” turned out to be a toxic and harmful food containing a banned substance, causing many unknowing consumers to be adversely affected. Investigative reporting revealed that cases of weight loss foods containing banned drugs were not uncommonly sold through online channels. Recently, the Liaoning police handled a case where high-priced slimming coffee promoted on well-known social platforms also contained sibutramine.
Recently, the Liaoning police received a report from the consumer Ms. Sun, stating that she had spent 14,400 yuan to purchase a product called “Xian Beishou” brand slimming coffee online, which may be harmful to health.
Ms. Sun told reporters that the merchant claimed it was a “keto” coffee that one could just drink on an empty stomach every morning, without exercising or dieting, guaranteeing a loss of 15 to 30 kilograms per month.
Reporter Ms. Sun: At the time, they introduced the product to me, saying that this product “Xian Beishou” is very convenient to drink, just drink a pack on an empty stomach in the morning, mix it with water, no exercise is needed, I was quite excited at the time, so I bought it.
However, after a week of drinking, Ms. Sun experienced clear adverse reactions. The Liaoning police found that this slimming coffee had simple packaging and lacked necessary production information.
Team leader of the Food and Drug Investigation Team of the Panting and Shuangtai Police Subbureau of Liaoning Province, Wang Xiangliang: This product lacks a normal drug approval number or food safety label; there is none. The specific production origin is also not addressed, the packaging is very rudimentary; at first glance, it is a “three-no” product.
Subsequent testing showed that the slimming coffee contained sibutramine, a banned substance. Using the information provided by the reporter, the Liaoning police quickly arrived at the seller of this slimming coffee, namely Wang. Later, the Liaoning police caught the suppliers of Wang in Yunnan and Gansu, Yang and Zhao, seizing over 400 bags of “slimming coffee.”
According to the Liaoning police, this illegal slimming coffee primarily utilized network distribution agents as the main sales model. It garnered a significant number of consumers through the promotion of end distributors on their respective social media accounts, with enticing slogans such as “No rebound, no diet, no side effects,” “Same product as the micro-business on Xiaohongshu,” to lure consumers.
As explained by the police, through promotion on social platforms, the suspects turned toxic and harmful foods containing banned substances into high-priced slimming coffee, selling them to unsuspecting consumers, reaping enormous profits.
Suspect Wang: After drinking, you may feel thirsty, not hungry, and slightly nauseous. However, the person I was getting goods from told me that this was normal; you should tell the customer to drink more water and eat something after thirty to forty minutes, and the discomfort will pass.
At present, the case has affected victims across nine provinces and cities nationwide. Four criminal suspects have been taken into custody by legal means, and the case is still under further investigation.
From the investigation so far, it was discovered that while relevant authorities have consistently pursued crackdowns on illegal production, sale, and use of sibutramine, the presence of weight loss products containing sibutramine remains prevalent, with some even becoming “internet celebrity products.” A search through the China Judgements Online site found that there have been over 1100 criminal cases involving sibutramine since 2013, with over 250 related cases listed in 2020, showing an increasing trend in the number of cases each year.
Researchers from the Suzhou Drug Inspection and Testing Research Center reported in 2019 that in testing 84 batches of slimming health foods sampled by market supervision and sent for analysis by public security, 50 batches were found to contain sibutramine.
In these cases, some slimming products contained sibutramine, yet merchants would disguise them as natural enzymes, slimming coffee, slimming candies, traditional Chinese medicine drinks, concealing the banned substance effectively. Online sales of weight loss foods have become a major area for the illegal addition of substances.
Chen Yaowu, Director of the First Procuratorate of the Shangjie People’s Procuratorate of Zhengzhou, Henan: The main illegal and banned substance added in weight loss products is sibutramine. The main characteristics of such illegal activities include strong concealment, low crime costs, high profits, and the use of network sales that form an industry chain cooperation by involving different parties.
Weight-loss foods sold on the internet have continued to contain illicit substances, posing significant hazards. It has been noted that there have been cases where ingestion of weight loss products containing sibutramine has led to death: In 2018, a young woman in Wuxi died after consuming weight loss products containing sibutramine; in 2021, a 4-year-old girl in Jiangsu died after accidentally eating slimming chocolates purchased by her mother online, with investigations revealing that these so-called slimming chocolates also contained sibutramine.
Medical experts emphasize that products claiming to have weight loss functions are now managed under health foods in China. Declaring weight loss health food products must undergo animal experiments and human taste tests to ensure effectiveness and safety. A search on the General Administration of Market Supervision’s health food query page reveals that there are currently 109 approved weight loss health food products in China. Medical professionals reiterate that products claiming extraordinary efficacy without approval should be approached with caution by consumers.
Director of Endocrinology at the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital Fifth Medical Center, Mr. Fang Yi: Generally speaking, weight loss products do not produce significant changes rapidly. Therefore, products claiming extraordinary effects likely contain some special additives. In reality, weight loss cannot be achieved in a short period; if necessary, one should seek the help of professionals, such as finding a doctor, dietitian, or qualified fitness coach to develop a reasonable weight loss plan according to their situation. Only with perseverance, gradual progress can achieve healthy and long-lasting weight loss results.
Weight loss is a process that requires patience and progress. Any product claiming miraculous short-term effects should be taken seriously by consumers. Legal experts state that online sales of weight loss products containing prohibited ingredients have become prominent. In addition to relying on regulatory authorities to intensify crackdowns, major e-commerce platforms, social media platforms, and short video platforms should all bear regulatory responsibilities for the illegal sales of health food, genuinely safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Source: CCTV News
Editor: Tang Gang
