Nordictrack Agrees To Settle Ftc Complaint

NordicTrack Inc. has agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission allegation that it made false weight-loss claims in advertisements for its cross-country ski exercise machines.

NordicTrack based its claims on faulty surveys and then mischaracterized the results in its ads, said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The settlement prohibits NordicTrack from misrepresenting the results of weight-loss studies and requires it to provide reliable evidence for any claims about exercise equipment it sells.

“Millions of consumers are searching for weight-loss products and programs that are proven to work, and NordicTrack appealed to that vulnerability,” Bernstein said.

In advertisements for its ski machine, NordicTrack claimed that 70 percent to 80 percent of consumers who used it lost an average of 17 pounds and that consumers who used the machines for 20 minutes a day, three times a week, lost an average of 18 pounds in 12 weeks.

The FTC said the claims were based on studies with methodological flaws.