Anger at lip balm that ‘burns fat’

The makers of Burner Balm claim it can stop women craving chocolate by suppressing their appetite and boosting their energy.

But critics said the £4.95 product plays on young girls' insecurities and encourages them to worry about their body image.

Dr Allan Kurtz, the American doctor behind the lip balm, said he invented it because of demand among his patients for something to help them lose weight.

He said: "People who have used this have reported losing between six and 10 pounds without changing anything else. It works by suppressing appetite. There are always cookies and cakes in my office and when I wear this I see my appetite going away.

"Because it goes into your system through your lips it works quickly and you still get the oral gratification of putting something on your mouth."

The balm contains hoodia extract, which Dr Kurtz claims is an appetite suppressant, green tea extract to "aid metabolism" and chromium picoliante which "helps fat burn and increase energy".

A spokeswoman for the eating disorder charity Beat said: "This could encourage young girls to worry unnecessarily about their body shape. We feel this is yet another marketing ploy playing on women's insecurities and issues around their size and weight."

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said both green tea and hoodia are thought to help with weight loss, but added: "They have got hold of these substances and put them in a lip balm, but it is doubtful this will lead to substantive weight loss. The amount you would have to consume would be far greater than that found in a simple smear of lip salve.

"You don't need gimmicks — the only long term way of losing weight is to make sure you consume less calories than you use."

Nutrition scientist Dr Elisabeth Weichselbaum said: "People need to be careful about over-the-counter weight loss products. If people want to lose weight they have to change their lifestyle. But you have to be aware of what food is healthy rather than just stopping eating."

Burner Balm has been on sale in America for six months and is now available in the UK via Hqhair.com.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "Burner Balm is not a gimmick product. It was developed by doctors for patients with low energy levels that can't control their appetites."

A report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found green tea could increase a person's energy expenditure by four per cent.

The hoodia plant is used as an appetite suppressant by Kalahari bushmen but the effectiveness of supplements, rather than the plant, is not as well known.