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Physicians Urge Elizabeth Hurley to Disavow False Dairy Diet Claims
Actress Should Not
Lend Her Famous Physique to Misleading ‘Got Milk?’ Advertising
Campaign
WASHINGTON—In a letter sent today to Elizabeth Hurley,
the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) called
on the British actress and model to stop participating in an
advertising campaign that falsely implies that consuming dairy
products facilitates weight loss.
In a “Got Milk?” ad from the Milk Processors Education
Program, Hurley sports a milk moustache while posing in a bikini
on a makeshift beach. The ad text says that nutrients in milk “make
for one irresistible body”—a claim that is not supported
by scientific evidence, according to PCRM doctors and dietitians.
“If Ms. Hurley drinks as much milk as the dairy industry
advises, she may soon have trouble fitting into her bikini,” says
Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., a PCRM staff dietitian. “The scientific
evidence against the ‘dairy diet’ theory is overwhelming.
Not only does dairy consumption not lead to weight loss, but
dairy has been linked to health problems ranging from lactose
intolerance to increased risk of some types of cancer.”
Scientific studies clearly show that adding dairy products to
one’s diet does not result in weight loss. If anything,
consuming milk is more likely to result in weight gain. The only
studies showing weight loss with dairy were conducted by a single
experimenter paid by the dairy industry.
Two recent studies, one at the University of Vermont and the
other at Purdue University, found no significant difference in
weight loss between people consuming a high-dairy diet and those
consuming a low-dairy diet. In the June issue of Archives
of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, a study of dairy
consumption among 12,000 children concluded that the more milk
children drank, the more weight they gained. The study’s
lead author called the dairy industry’s claims “misleading.”
Most recently, a study in the March issue of The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that men who increased
their intake of total dairy actually gained more weight over
a 12-year period; researchers also found that low-fat dairy
intake had no association with significant weight change.
Last year, PCRM filed two lawsuits to stop the multimillion-dollar
advertising campaign claiming that milk facilitates weight loss.
PCRM has also asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Food
and Drug Administration to put an end to such claims. PCRM’s
legal complaint and FTC and FDA petitions can be found online
at www.pcrm.org/dairydeception.
For a copy of the letter to Ms. Hurley or an interview with
Ms. Levin, please contact Patrick Sullivan at 202-686-2210, ext.
311, or psullivan@pcrm.org.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine,
especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research
studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes
alternatives to animal research.
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Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 | E-mail: pcrm@pcrm.org |
