New study finds students with weight issues purchase weight-loss products found in e-mail ads
BROOKLYN, N.Y. According to a study published in the January issue of the Southern Medical Journal, 41% of college students with weight problems opened and read spam e-mail advertising “lose weight fast” weight-loss products with 18.5% ordering these weight-loss products.
“This is of concern as there is no quality control for what is advertised in spam e-mail. These products can range from harmless to potentially dangerous,” stated Joshua Fogel, lead researcher and associate professor of the business program at the department of economics at Brooklyn College. “Some spam e-mail products even advertise and sell prescription medications without requiring proof of a valid prescription.”
In additional analyses considering the impact of a number of relevant variables, those with weight problems as compared to those without weight problems were three times more likely to open/read and also three times more likely to purchase weight-loss products from spammed e-mail.
Fogel analyzed data from a survey of 200 college students, who were asked if they had weight problems and if in the past year they received, opened/read, or purchased products from spam e-mail about weight loss topics.