A New Zealand woman is fuming after learning that a photograph of her is being used to sell a brand of diet pills in the United States. According to the New Zealand Herald the woman, Maree Briggs, came across the advertisement for Metabo-Speed XXX on the Internet. The distributor, Lab 88, touts the product as the “diet pill of the stars.”

The photo of Briggs was taken by her husband in the 1990s to mark her completion of a diet program called The Natural Way. The photograph was used for magazine advertisements for the diet, which Briggs was compensated for. She believes the photograph was taken from the company’s Web site and she plans to sue Lab 88 for using her image without her permission. Lab 88 also reportedly has used celebrity “endorsements” from stars like Oprah Winfrey.

There are grey areas when it comes to weight loss supplement endorsements, although this particularly case appears to be blatantly dishonest. The large percentage of dietary supplement companies use individuals and celebrities to endorse their products to give them credibility. Unfortunately, in many cases the individuals are paid for promoting the weight loss supplements without ever having used them. In some cases individuals who endorse supplements do lose weight by using the supplement but may have used another method of weight loss in conjunction with the product.

Concerns about marketing techniques have prompted the United States Federal Trade Commission to consider new guidelines for using endorsements for weight loss products. Changes could include making disclosures more detailed in prominent in advertisements. The FTC is expected to make a decision regarding new guidelines in June.