Ab machines..get sued!

[Mr. Miskatonic]

I guess this was the best place for this thread.

Well, it seemed that for a while, every two seconds a thread on GQ would start asking if those electronic ab machines "really worked?".

Well, now the Guv'mint is suing the manufacturers!

Gotta love the name "Project Absurd"

[ultrafilter]

It's about fucking time!

[Caught@Work]

Talk about serendipity. It was last night driving home from work that the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) announced that they were taking the manufacturer and distributor of these things in Oz to the courts.
Maybe we're just picggy-backing off each other.
Furthermore, how stupid do you have to be to believe and buy stuff like this?? Really !

[Winnowill]

Actually, my hubby bought one, after having talked to some people who had success with them.

He, also, had success with it - he bought it about a month ago and has lost several inches around his waist. I did not, as I could not make it fit properly. No, it won't help you develop rock-hard abs, but it will eliminate some extra poundage.

Of course, YMMV.

[occ]

Winnowill, no offense, but there's no evidence of any sort of effectiveness from these. Your husband's success is far more likely to be related to his diet and exercise.

[Winnowill]

WHAT diet and exercise, exactly?

[scr4]

WHAT diet and exercise, exactly?

I don't know about the ab machines, but many dubious products come with advice on other ways to help. Like gasoline additives that come with a sheet of other fuel-economy improvement tips.

Also, people want to see results from such gadgets so they unconsciously do other things to help. E.g. "if I eat this donut it'll probably negate the effect of the ab machine, so I'll hold off on that until I see if that machine really works."

[The Asbestos Mango]

From what I've heard, these ab machines are good supplementals for diet and exercise (if you work out regularly, using the machine will help keep you toned on the occasional day when for some reason you can't make it to the gym) but, in and of themselves they're pretty useless.

I'm hearing that people are getting nasty electrical shocks and burns from these gadgets, though.

I say, sue 'em, just for the injuries.

[Omnivore]

You'll notice that the suits did not begin until a couple of hundred thousand people were bilked out of their money for these things. Why did it take so long for the government to get involved? There are truth in advertising laws that seem to be just ignored these days with impunity.