An ad to promote milk drinking. An ad campaign pitching the idea that drinking more milk spurs weight loss is ending, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) quoted by media reports Monday. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhuanet) -- An ad campaign pitching the idea that drinking more milk spurs weight loss is ending, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) quoted by media reports Monday.

    The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine contended the weight loss claims were false and misleading.

    "It is obvious that the industry did not have a leg to stand on," Neal Barnard, president of the Washington-based doctors committee. His group advocates a vegan diet, which typically includes no animal products.

    The two marketing campaigns at issue involve the "Milk your diet. Lose Weight!" ads on television, Internet and in magazines, and the "3-A-Day. Burn More Fat, Lose Weight" ads, which are now mostly Web-based.

    The ad campaign has to wait "until further research provides stronger, more conclusive evidence of an association between dairy consumption and weight loss," said Lydia Parnes, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

    Greg Miller, senior vice president for the National Dairy Council, said the industry stands "behind our weight loss messages and the science supporting those messages."

    But Miller said that at the request of U.S. Department of Agriculture, the industry would shift its messages "to emphasize the role of dairy in weight maintenance" instead of weight loss.

    In its April 2005 petition to the FTC, the advocacy group charged that the dairy industry was misleading the public with its high profile, celebrity-filled marketing campaign that suggested consuming milk and other dairy products helped consumers lose weight.

    "Milk and cheese are more likely to pack on pounds than help people slim down," said Dan Kinburn, PCRM's general counsel. "This case calls into question other advertising claims made by the industry, especially the notion that milk builds strong bones. Evidence shows it does nothing of the kind."

    (Agencies)