No!
The weight loss industry has now turned to the insecurities of some new moms and created a weight loss cream that can be rubbed over your stomach fat to help lose your “mommy tummy”. Although exercise and a healthy diet can effectively remove this layer of fat, the creators of the “fat burning cream” have other ideas!
Several celebrities have already said that they use the cream. Diana Vickers, Denise van Outen, Kimberley Walsh, Alexandra Burke and Ellie Goulding have all said that they have used the “miracle cream” to help flatten their tummies.
This new cream is really the result of the ever-increasing influence of the celebrity on all people today. Whereas only 20 years ago it was expected that mothers would lose their figure, now celebrity culture worships the women that regain their pre-pregnancy figure in record time. Often celebrities make the news for losing weight quickly – Danielle Lloyd Loses Fat in 11 Weeks and Dannii Minogue and Jennifer Lopez also making the news for how they lost their mommy tummy after child-birth.
Does the Cream Work?
The manufacturers of one fat burning cream, which was branded under the name Nip + Fab Tummy Fix, explain that it contains a special combination of fat-burning ingredients, which includes citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange extracts) and synephrine. It is claimed that both of these act as a catalyst in the breakdown of body fat.
Synephrine is indeed a drug used to aid weight loss and if often sold as s fat burning pill which also contains caffeine. However, there is thought to be a risk to cardiovascular health when ingesting bitter orange or synephrine and the Mayo Clinic believe that there is a link between Stacker 2 pills, which contain synephrine, and increased risk of ischemic stroke, increased blood pressure, and heart attack.
However, even if synephrine does aid fat burning, there is no scientifically proven evidence that applying it to the skin will work. The chemical needs to be ingested and to reach the blood supply before it will start to cause stimulation to the hormonal system to increase metabolism.
The Federal Trade Commission made the following statement concerning one fat loss cream in 2009:
“One of the products claims as soon as it is applied to the body, it would cause fat and weight to just disappear simply by applying the product, and that just isn’t so,” Len Gordon, Northeast Regional Office.
They were referring to Nivea’s bio-slim complex. The outcome was that Nivea agreed to pay $900,000 to provide compensate consumers and has agreed to certain requirements for future advertising. The settlement prohibited Beiersdorf Inc. from promoting its My Silhouette! skin cream to consumers as a weight-loss treatment.
The settlement prohibited Beiersdorf Inc. from claiming that any drug, dietary supplement, or cosmetic causes weight or fat loss or a reduction in body size, unless the claim is backed by two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical studies. In short – if science cannot prove that a drug does what it claims, it cannot claim it!
Is a Cream the Answer?
No, as the cream does not address the real issue which is that many new moms continue to eat too much after birth.
“The real skinny on weight loss is that no cream is going to help you fit into your jeans. The tried and true formula for weight loss is diet and exercise.” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, 2011.
Besides, those creams are not cheap, and some may say that they are just exploiting women’s insecurities. Recent research showed that women who perform weight-bearing exercise on a regular basis have greater self-esteem. The best way to lose fat has to be healthy diet and exercise every time. Why? Because it really does work.
Further Reading
FTC Settlement Prohibits Marketer from Claiming that Nivea Skin Cream Can Help Consumers Slim Down. Federal Trade Commission. 06/29/2011
Nivea Fined for Claiming Skin Cream Caused Weight Loss – by Jorgen Wouters for the Daily Finance. 07/05/11
No surgery required: Can this miracle cream really banish mummy tummy?
by Katherine Faulkner. Mail Online, 18 October 2010.