THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406090077
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940612 LENGTH: Long
Both have have found Skinny Dip, one of 60 new thigh creams on the market since two scientists linked fat-smoothing effects to an asthma medication that has been added to thigh creams.
{REST} ``I used to go to the gym, do Jane Fonda, lift weights and swim a mile in the pool, and I couldn't get rid of these saddlebags,'' said Varga of Virginia Beach.
``But I lost 1 inches off my thighs in the first week.''
Mickett is also hooked.
``Last year I was close to the maximum limit for PRT (physical readiness standards) we have in the military,'' Mickett said.
``And I almost starved myself last year to make sure I made them. Now I know all I have to do is use Skinny Dip.''
But there are a lot of lumps and bumps in this thigh-cream craze. Most of the manufacturers - including Skinny Dip owners - can't explain how or why the creams work. And some studies suggest it does not work at all.
The Boston Globe conducted a five-week study with 21 women who used Skinny Dip on their left thighs. Of the 17 who continued with the study, nine woman noticed no change, while three had fatter thighs in the end.
The five who noticed a change had overall-body weight loss that couldn't be attributed to the cream.
Meanwhile, Americans are spending millions on the cream they claim makes them look better.
``It's based on theory,'' said Tom Mower, owner and president of Utah-based Neways Inc., which manufacturers Skinny Dip.
``But nobody knows exactly how it works.''
Consumer advocates are incensed.
``As far as they know, their legs could fall off next week,'' said Gail Zyla, senior editor of the Tufts University Diet & Nutrition newsletter who has published a critical report of the creams.
``Our society is so skewed about our bodies that (people will) use a thigh cream and not question the research and money they spend. It's so entrenched to want thinner thighs and to be as thin as possible.''
In the meantime, the thigh creams - many sold only through independent distributors - are in crazy demand.
``I'm swamped. I don't have enough time in the day to do all that I need to do,'' said Norfolk Skinny Dip distributor, W.D. Scott Wood, who sells it out of his home.
And Mower's monthly sales have jumped to $5 million. He expected May to be an even better month.
Thigh creams and the obsession with them aren't new. For the past 25 years, American women have spent fortunes on creams, sponges, rubberized pants, cactus fiber wash cloths and plastic surgery to remove the fat.
The recent hubbub around thigh creams comes from a conference last October in which two highly respected doctors said they used a cream containing an asthma medication - aminophyllin - on 24 women and the women noticed a `` one-half -inch-to-1 and one -half-inch '' reduction in the circumference of the thighs.
The race began.
Companies like Neways, which already had a thigh cream on the market, added the asthma medication to its potions. Within weeks, ``new and improved'' creams were on the market: Thi-Gone, Miracle Thighs, The Thigh Cream, Trim Thighs, Thin Thighs and Belly Buster, Smooth Contours, Body Slim, Dream Cream.
They range in price from $18 to $40 for a 4-ounce bottle, which can last two to four weeks depending on usage. Results are not permanent; users must continue with the products to maintain any results.
``But we use lipstick everyday and when we run out, we go out and get another tube, don't we?,'' asked Marisa Galati, a Virginia Beach Skinny Dip distributor.
Only three of the creams, however, have the legal and scientific blessing of the researchers Dr. Frank L. Greenway of the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and Dr. George Bray of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. The researchers sold Smooth Contours, Thermojetics Body Toning Cream and The Right Solution's Cellution the ``concept'' of the cream, not the actual formula used in the studies.
The researchers are taking Skinny Dip manufacturers to court claiming false advertising and unfair competition for connecting the researchers with their products.
``They're making a fortune. They jumped right on it . . . didn't do any clinical testing or research,'' said Laurelle Levine, a spokeswoman for the researchers.
``It should scare some people.''
Yet, Mower says that because their previous product ``was safe and highly affective'' and contained ingredients very similar to aminophyllin, he felt that adding aminophyllin without long-term testing wouldn't create a health risk.
Neways released its new product in October shortly after the conference and started testing two months later. Mowers said the testing should be completed by July, but says he can't release the name of the researchers.
Neways is planning to contract a dermatologist-plastic surgeon to study how aminophyllin manipulates the body, but the company hasn't yet.
As long as the manufacturers use sweeping jargon such as, ``improves and smooths the appearance'' of sagging hips and thighs, it avoids the constraints of the Federal Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, which monitors companies for making unsubstantiated claims such as getting rid of fat or cellulite. The FTC recently went after Synchronal Corp. because of such claims with its Anushka Body Contouring Cream, and the company has to pay the government $3.5 million that will be distributed to users.
``We're not too concerned about exaggerated claims . . . just as long as the manufacturers avoid making medical claims,'' said Mike Shaffer, an FDA spokesman.
``As far as the FDA is concerned, it's never been proven that it really works.''
But there's more than a question of physical safety, some advocates say.
What does it mean when droves of women are willing to shell out big bucks for something they can't be sure of?
``It just goes along with the magic cure mentality. It might not be dangerous, but they're not even sure,'' said Francis Casper with Consultants in Nutritional Services in Norfolk.
``It's dangerous to your self-esteem. Women are continuing to look for something and avoiding the real issues. You need to know why the weight is there in the first place.''
Casper said the only proven way to get rid of cellulite is the old-fashioned way.
``Reducing the intake of food to the level your body actually needs and aerobic exercise. Walking, swimming, biking is good.''
by CNB