An Auckland man and his company have been ordered to refund $175,000 after falsely claiming a tablet could "melt away" fat and cellulite. However, the refunds, which could benefit thousands of customers who bought Celluslim tablets, are on hold pending an appeal.

Intellectual property and technology attorney Joel B. Rothman of the law firm of Rutherford Mulhall, P.A. has launched a new informational legal weblog devoted to litigation and regulation of dietary and nutritional supplements. The Nutritional and Dietary Supplement Law Blog is at www.nutrisuplaw.com or www.dietsuplaw.com.

Alizyme plc (LSE:AZM) has successfully completed its pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic clinical trial of cetilistat in obese volunteers, under its Investigational New Drug (IND) application in the USA.

Drugstore shelves are brimming with shakes, herbs and other products to help with weight loss, but the vast majority of them have not been shown to work. A proven medication that helps modestly with weight loss might join their ranks on the shelves next year.

When television pop psychologist "Dr. Phil" McGraw first teamed up with the lucrative weight-loss supplement industry, you could almost see Oprah Winfrey shaking her head in disapproval.