Three celebrity Instagram posts promoting weight-loss products banned

Research has shown that social media sites like Facebook and Instagram can cause mental health issues, low self-esteem and body image issues, especially when they are used by young people, teenagers and children.

In particular, posts from celebrities can have a negative effect on teenagers’ body image. And in the latest row, advertisements for a range of weight loss products that were shown on the accounts of celebrities have now been banned for being irresponsible.

The posts were shown on the accounts of several celebrities, including Katie Price, Georgia Harrison, and Lauren Goodger. They were shown promoting weight loss products, including Boombod and V24 gummies.

Lauren Goodger shared the picture of the products on her Instagram account, saying:  “Can’t believe these amazing results I’ve gotten with boombod’s 7 Day Achiever. It works so well to decrease bloating and get rid of those late night cravings. This difference I’ve noticed from using this stuff is amazing.”

Earlier in the year, Katie Price posted a before and after image on her account, saying: “Getting loads of questions about the boombod program and how I like it, and it’s no secret. I can’t get enough of it!”

“Quick & Easy weight loss is great, but doing it in a healthy way is key. These shots have a bunch of vitamins, use a clinically proved natural fibre, contain zero laxatives and most importantly… they give results every time!“

However, these posts received complaints from some followers, who said that the health claims showed the weight loss products in an irresponsible way and showed an amount of weight loss that was banned under EU-advertising laws.

According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the posts breach the rules around health advertising as they show and endorse the products in a way that’s deemed to be irresponsible and encouraging unhealthy weight loss.

The ASA stated: ”We were concerned that the photo of Lauren Goodger appeared to have been edited to make her waist look artificially thin with the result that the images were not representative of her real body shape. We considered that was particularly irresponsible in the context of an ad for an appetite suppressant that presented her as an aspirational figure.”