Everyone is looking for the quick-fix but as I pointed out in my Permanent Fat Loss Principles article, the “SECRET” is that there IS no secret: http://www.drbillofhealth.com/exercise/permanent-fat-loss-principles-secret-is-no-secret/

As you said, good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle is still the best medicine for slimming down and staying that way.

Cheers,
Dr. Bill

All the exercise equipment that that tv shop sells is crap, will fall apart and is downright dangerous. Who remembers pyramid power from 2006 that thing fails to work after a short time from using on the various body parts, as a result of stretching the coil.

Society is becoming lazy and after a quick fix just take a a look at yahoo answers, that website is full of naive people who would believe those ads.

Better to promote good nutrition than unsafe crap such as the ab circle pro

There’s only one single thing more sad than the above: that the general public who is, as you say, naive actually believes this garbage and puts blind faith in a pitchwoman not worth their trust or respect. Very sad.

Thanks again for your comment.

Kind regards,
Dr. Bill

In 2009, founders of the Ab Circle Pro (hereafter referred to as ACP) claimed to have developed a machine that would revolutionise the fitness industry worldwide. They have reported sales of over two million units and while there have been numerous negative reviews throughout the global fitness industry, sales continue to grow. This is evident with the introduction of the Ab Circle Pro V.2 and a more portable Ab Circle Pro Mini.

A quick search on the Internet and you will find a wave of negative and positive ACP reviews from fitness experts and members of the public. It is easy for the general public to get confused about whether this product is a scam or whether it really works. However one thing is clear, from a business point of view the marketing team for ACP have hit the nail on the head with the millions of consumers searching for the holy grail of weight loss methods.

ACP engage fitness celebrity Jennifer Nicole Lee (JNL) to front a series of high-tempo infomercials and shopping channel adverts in which she makes some extraordinary claims and sends out some misleading key messages. My comments are not aimed at analyzing each claim and contesting their validity or not. That has been done and will be referred to later. My focus is whether or not JNL’s decision to join with ACP and promote the product is ethically contrary to the values and/or code of conduct expected of fitness professionals. At the very least you would expect a fitness expert to act with professional integrity.

It is worth taking a quick look at who JNL is and what she stands for. JNL is one of the world’s most accomplished Super Fitness Models, and is an international celebrity due to her high profile wellness merchandise and key media appearances. Her career began when she lost over 80 lbs after the birth of her children. Her motivational weight loss success story caught the world’s attention, after she gained notoriety as a professional fitness competitor, holding countless titles and crowns.

She was soon a frequent guest on major US national talk shows, such as the Oprah Winfrey Oprah, E! Entertainment, Fox and Friends, etc. She is the CEO and visionary behind JNL Worldwide, Inc and is internationally recognized in over 110 different countries. Most importantly she is a devoted wife and mother, representing the millions of other mom’s and wives in the world with a brand they can trust. 

“It’s my goal and passion to increase the quality of your lifestyle.” – JNL

It is fair to say that in business, all professionals are expected to act in accordance with a code of conduct or code of ethics relevant to that profession. I have cited a few relevant examples from a selection of Fitness Organisations.

• Fitness Australia Code of Ethics
1. Professional Integrity (In part only)
o Advertising. Exercise professionals may advertise in connection with their professional practice if the advertising is not false, not misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive, is not vulgar or sensational, and does not claim or imply superiority of the exercise professional over any or all other exercise professionals. The advertisement for the exercise professional may contain a statement of the areas of expertise in practice.
2. Fitness New Zealand Code of Ethics
3. A member of Fitness New Zealand, and agrees to: (In part only)
o make no false claims with regard to any of the products and services offered by the club.
o not use deceptive or high-pressure sales tactics.
4. Global Fitness Association Members
Code of Conduct
5. As a Member of Global Fitness Association, we agree to operate our facility(s) and conduct ourselves in accordance with the Global Fitness Association Code of Conduct, as set out below.

 (In part only)
o Members should provide a trustworthy, safe, and caring exercise environment for our clients.



In May 2011, each of the JNL and ACP claims was scientifically reviewed by Dr William Sukala PhD clinical exercise physiologist. The full review can be found online at http://www.drbillofhealth.com/exercise/ab-circle-pro-review-fat-marketing-claims-thin-on-truth/ however the verdict is clear as outlined below.

The verdict. After reviewing the infomercial, website, and product information, in my professional opinion, the Ab Circle Pro represents yet another “too-good-to-be-true” exercise contraption. I believe the product advertising is littered with confusing and/or misleading claims which, if not overtly false, clearly distort basic physiology and kinesiology to serve its marketing objectives. In my 20 years as a health professional, I don’t think I’ve seen a more egregiously offensive ad campaign for a fitness product. For reasons I’ve highlighted above, I feel this company 1) warrants closer scrutiny by consumer protection and regulatory agencies; and 2) should be held accountable by these agencies to furnish legitimate proof which supports their marketing claims.

Can you forgive a naive public for expecting that JNL’s claims about the ACP are true, not misleading? The black and white answer is “no”, everyone should look at the fine print and read the detail rather than claim that they were duped. However, when you look at JNL’s professional profile and the fitness industry’s code of ethics, her personal goal and passion and the fact that she is a wife and mother who has transformed herself, the fine print and the detail are all lost in the hype. Its obvious to me that JNL has lost sight of her professional integrity.