SCAM of Health and Wellness Coaching in India

I'm sure you have come across many online communities that post videos of workouts at renowned parks in your city and claim to make our country a #ObesityFreeNation.

They promise to turn you into a #SwasthyaWarrior, aim to #ReshapeNation, and increase your #WellnessQuotient! They claim to help you to not only lose weight but also reverse diabetes, thyroid issues, PCOD, cholesterol, fatty liver etc.

But are you AWARE that these communities are just a façade for multi-level marketing (MLM)/network marketing schemes of MNCs - Amway and Herbalife?

Do you KNOW that the distributors of these companies are

• unqualified to give health and diet advice,
• make false claims that they are Health and Wellness Coaches,
• sell you highly processed foods like shakes and pills which are known to be harmful to your health under the guise of helping you with weight loss,
• and their claim of reversal of diseases like PCOD, diabetes, thyroid, cholesterol, fatty liver, etc. are unverified

How does this Scam work?

An online health community is formed by these distributors who have NO qualifications and experience in health advisory. These self-proclaimed health coaches post pictures of their own weight loss or disease reversal none of which can be medically verified.

Their tactic is to convince you that the root cause of your weight gain or diseases is a result of nutritional deficiency in your diet, and can be resolved by taking supplements that they sell. They also claim that taking supplements promotes inner healing, and organ healing and makes you lose weight faster.

You are made to buy Rs.30,000-40,000 worth of supplements for 3 months which include meal replacement & protein shakes, pills, etc. of Amway Nutrilite or Herbalife. Unless you pay, no disclosure of the diet or the program details is made. After you cough up the supplements, you will be given a standard low-carb keto diet coupled with intermittent fasting.

The diet is something like this – no carbs, no dairy, no fruits, no starchy vegetables, no sugar, and no fried foods. It means that you have to eliminate rice, wheat, millet, milk, paneer, ghee, etc., from your diet and survive on pulses and dals throughout. If you can't follow the diet, you can opt-out without a refund! Complain of any other minor discomfort like bloating/gas/constipation during the program, you will be forced to buy another Rs. 10,000-15,000 of supplements.

If you don’t reach the target weight within 3 months, they will convince you to go for another 3 months with 30,000 worth of supplements. At the end of it, you are invited to a discussion with them about onboarding you as a distributor!

Why this isn’t good for you?

1.      If you follow such extreme diets, no doubt you will lose weight easily even without supplements. Please remember this health advice is given by MLM marketers who are engineers, MBAs, housewives, etc. who have NO knowledge of your health condition, nor will take responsibility if your health gets affected due to the extreme diet. The certifications some of them boast about are invalid and not recognized at all!

2.      There is no medical evidence showing that they have indeed reversed diabetes/thyroid/PCOS along with weight loss except for their social media posts.

3.      Unnecessary consumption of supplements might result in toxicity which is a medical emergency that they can’t handle.

4.      Continuous use of such highly processed shakes and supplements is known to have adverse effects on liver health.

5.      You cannot complain against them because it's your fault to have taken health advice from an unqualified person.

6.      These communities are not legal business entities, and hence no Google reviews are available. All the reviews on their social media and Quora/Reddit are positive and given by the distributors and never by the ones who underwent the weight loss or disease reversal.

7.      Your name, photo, location, profession, and health issues – your personal data will be shared on not only the community’s social media handles but also on each member’s social media and WhatsApp status!

8.      Ask the coaches any question about how they are treating diseases like diabetes, or PCOS without experience, they will block you immediately! All calls are done on WhatsApp so recording cannot be done.

What can you do?

1.      If you come across such fake health coaches, report their social media handles immediately. Report any posts that make claims about disease reversal.

2.      Check the education and experience of the person from whom you take health advice.

3.      Educate your friends and family, and save them from falling prey to such dubious claims and losing money.

4.      Sign this petition and share it with your friends and family.