Bodyflex, Greer Nonsense?

Greer Childers, a pixie-ish blond, first appeared on the scene in the mid 1990's. In her 50's, she claimed that her svelte look was due to a program which she claimed to have basically invented, called "Bodyflex". This program consisted of something she called "aerobic breathing" ("that's what you really do when you do cardio", she explained, saying you could get the 'fat burning' effect without cardio if you did the breathing correctly). And about 15 or less minutes of sit-ups, crunches and other light calisthenics a few times a week.

Her claims in the infomercial were rather amazing... "lose 10 lbs in 7 days" she claimed and so easy, without starvation and heavy exercise (while she was giving this line, later infomercials ran small print that the weight loss would only happen if the person went on a "reasonable" diet) .

Her book was a bit more candid about the origin of her program, "Bodyflex". She had apparently taken a class in Pilates in California and adapted some of the techniques to Bodyflex. Newly divorced and broke, she desperately needed an income and this looked promising.

She has large thighs and said she had run enough miles to run around the world. But she never said in the book that she had STOPPED running to keep off her weight and likely she hadn't.

I joined a yahoo group called "bodyflex" - but found all the people there who attributed their weight loss to Greer's few calisthenics or aerobic breathing, were also doing other types of cardio and dieting.

I put my first article about her up in 1999. She was an interesting character, whether her claims (which I still had no proof were true) were false or not. My article drew a certain amount of complaint from a group of fans of Greer's. To date, I have only found one lady who claims a large weight loss using Bodyflex ONLY.

But some others also wrote to me. Some said that they had tried to return the program but the company really was NOT good on the refund side. Others said they had worked for her and with her and knew the lady from whom she um...lifted her aerobic breathing program and that Greer had never obtained permission for this nor had she paid the lady any royalties while going to the bank from her infomercials.

In November 2003, the FTC announced they were suing Ms Childers and group for false marketing claims.

The FTC asked the court to issue an immediate temporary restraining order for all defendants, except Greer Childers, to prohibit them from making the challenged false claims, and freezing their assets, and require an immediate accounting. Defendant Greer Childers has stipulated to the entry of a temporary order that prohibits her from making the challenged claims, freezes certain of her assets, and requires an accounting. The FTC also is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, including redress for BodyFlex purchasers.

According to the FTC, the BodyFlex infomercial has been among the 10 most frequently aired infomercials in weekly U.S. rankings, and has aired over 2,000 times from February through September 2003 on national cable channels such as Bravo, The History Channel, and Home & Garden Television. The defendants have spent approximately $22 million to promote BodyFlex through the infomercial, according to the FTC.

The defendants have sold BodyFlex for $39.90, plus $14.95 shipping and handling (totaling $54.85) directly to consumers through their toll-free number or Web site. The product also has been offered for sale on third-party Web sites, such as www.tvproductsonly.com.

The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, on November 7, 2003.

(FTC File No. 032-3212)
(Civil Action No. LACV 03-8159 FMC (JTLX)

( http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/11/bodyflex.htm )

Greer was back in 2005, however, with a new infomercial. The program had not changed but she had added a bar which she called "the body bar" to the mix and although the same claims were made as those which originally got her in trouble, she cleverly made none of those claims herself but rather employed supposedly happy customers to tell the public the outrageous weight loss claims.

According to at least one unhappy customer whom we shall call Margaret, the body bar was not sturdy at all. Hers broke and it took her years to get ANYTHING from the company. Since the program had not worked for her, she wanted her money back (as Greer promises in the infomercial) however, after about 5 years of bugging the company she got only a new "bodybar". Margaret gave it up as a lost cause.

Another person who wrote to me informed me that she was a friend of the lady from whom Greer "lifted" the callisthenics / breathing part of her program and that this lady was angry and planning to sue Greer because Greer had never paid her any royalties on her rather impressive earnings from the infomercial.

Perhaps she DID sue because Greer disappeared from infomercials for a while again and then appeared back on TV in 2006 but with a brand new program and no mention of the "aerobic breathing" or "bodyflex" which she had previously stated was the "only program that had ever worked for her".

The new program is called "Shapely Secrets" and includes "7 secrets" of weight loss which will give you, according to the testimonials, (again all claims are made by customers and not Greer) a loss of 10 lbs and 10 inches in 7 days. However as this very claim is being made, small print is flashed at the bottom of the screen which states "typical results are 1 size and 6 lbs in 14 days".

Greer is now 61 years old but looks wrinkle free in the infomercial - I would not be surprised if she, like most celebs has taken advantage of things like Botox and plastic surgery to remove the wrinkles usually seen in elderly. She still has the long flowing blond hair and the face that says "you have to believe me - would I lie to you?"

The exercise with "Shapely Secrets" is done "standing still", is 7 minutes long and appears from the brief description given, to be the old garden variety "isometric exercise" Again small print tells us two muscle groups are worked - the arms - triceps biceps etc and the thighs etc.

On her new website, www.shapelysecrets.com she claims the 7 minute isometric exercises are much more effective than traditional exercise as proven in 5 university studies but she gives no cites to the studies.

To the average American, quick weight loss without doing much and only 7 minutes of exercise done "standing still" is attractive and I'm sure Greer's new program is already selling well. Greer will take her money to the bank until someone gets after her. But like the old fashion snake oil salesman, she'll pop up again, still looking glam and selling something else.

Dr Jana Klauer, a fellow at the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital says, sorry folks Body Flex is just too good to be true. The program, she says, is not endorsed by the American Sports Council the American Medical Association or any other reputable weight loss organization as a tried and true means of losing weight. “A product such as this is unfortunate because in America we have a tremendous incidence of obesity and it's too bad that it is marketed as a way to sit in front of your T.V. and exercise. Cause the people sitting in front of the T.V. are the people who should be up and walking and doing a real exercise program.” Like many exercise gimmicks, Klauer says there is a grain of truth to the Body Flex prescription. You need oxygen to break down food for energy, but more oxygen doesn't speed the fat burning process. “If all you had to do is breath to lose weight we'd be a nation of slim people.”
http://www.janaklauermd.com/janaklauerMD/cbsnewyork_0903.html

Greer Childers - get slim by breathing - or now, just stand still