Chapter
The Obesity Epidemic: Fact or Fiction?
15:50 - 20:48 (04:58)
Arguments are made that the obesity epidemic is being exaggerated to fuel the weight loss industry and sell products.
Clips
The makers of Redux defined their ideal customer (called "Roxanne Redux") to be middle-aged, middle-class Americans who need to lose at least 50 pounds and have tried everything else.
15:50 - 17:17 (01:26)
Summary
The makers of Redux defined their ideal customer (called "Roxanne Redux") to be middle-aged, middle-class Americans who need to lose at least 50 pounds and have tried everything else. They hold diet seminars (disguised as motivational speaking events) to sell the drug, where all the facilitators wear lab coats and don't reveal their identity as sales reps unless asked.
ChapterThe Obesity Epidemic: Fact or Fiction?
EpisodeFen Phen & Redux
PodcastMaintenance Phase
The approach taken by diet pill companies, in which they present themselves as medical authorities, preys on vulnerable women who may be in desperate emotional states, and the pills often don't even work in the long run.
17:17 - 18:31 (01:14)
Summary
The approach taken by diet pill companies, in which they present themselves as medical authorities, preys on vulnerable women who may be in desperate emotional states, and the pills often don't even work in the long run.
ChapterThe Obesity Epidemic: Fact or Fiction?
EpisodeFen Phen & Redux
PodcastMaintenance Phase
In this episode, the hosts discuss the unethical practices of the diet pill industry, focusing on the case of Wyeth and their drug Fen-Phen.
18:31 - 19:38 (01:07)
Summary
In this episode, the hosts discuss the unethical practices of the diet pill industry, focusing on the case of Wyeth and their drug Fen-Phen. Part of Wyeth's marketing plan was investing in anti-obesity organizations to make it appear as if they were genuinely concerned about public health, while simultaneously profiting from the anxiety surrounding obesity.
ChapterThe Obesity Epidemic: Fact or Fiction?
EpisodeFen Phen & Redux
PodcastMaintenance Phase
Within a few months of its introduction, doctors were writing 85,000 prescriptions a week for the diet drug Redux.
19:38 - 20:48 (01:10)
Summary
Within a few months of its introduction, doctors were writing 85,000 prescriptions a week for the diet drug Redux. By 1997, $220 million in sales of Redux alone was projected.