It's A Tall Tale

The FTC recently announced a proposed consent order against Vanilla Chip LLC (dba TruHeight) and its individual officers regarding ad claims for TruHeight dietary supplements, products advertised to increase the height of kids, teens and young adults. The FTC alleged that the company’s claims were unsubstantiated and their marketing techniques deceptive. The consent order includes a $4 million judgment and bars the company and its principals from making false or unsupported health claims or using fake reviews.

Specifically, the FTC alleged that, despite advertising that it had “clinical evidence” to support its growth claims, the company in fact relied on a single company-sponsored study. The study, measuring the height growth of 32 participants over a six month period, was substantially flawed, according to the FTC. It was of insufficient size and duration, lacked proper randomization, failed to control for participants’ sleeps and nutritional intake and only evaluated a single