Diet Fad Marketed In Tasty, Lollipop Form

Hoodia, A South African Plant, Marketed As Appetite Suppressant

September 14, 2006

(CBS4) BOSTON A new fad in dieting - hoodia - exploded after 60 Minutes did a piece on the supplement. It now comes in a candy form - Power Pops, which claim to taste great and suppress appetite. CBS4's Sara Underwood put the pops to the test.

Hoodia is an herb from South Africa that only grows in the Kalahari Desert. Bushman there eat the plants to prevent hunger on long trips, by shaving off the thorns and sucking on the plant.

Most Hoodia products come in capsules, but the makers of power pops say their product has a distinct advantage.

"We have the only product in the world that has the form of hoodia in it the same way the South Africans are taking it by sucking on it," said Power Pops creator, Mike Wenniger.

To put Power Pops to the test, we asked four employees at studio 291 in Newton to try them for five days. The instructions? Eat one lollipop with eight ounces of water a half hour before each meal.

Two of the testers reported that the pops did not work for them at all. Two of the others believed the pops could help lick their weight problems.

Dr. George Blackburn, a renowned Boston obesity expert at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center says people who buy hoodia are being hoodwinked.

"To have someone tell us that there's a magic pill that will do the job for us is misdirecting us, it's the wrong thing to do," he said.

Hoodia is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Power Pops cost about a dollar a piece.

Source: http://cbs4boston.com/consumer/local_story_257204425.html