All Someone Looking for a Program Needs is a Little Help from Friends

   Promises, promises. There must be hundreds of weight-loss programs in the U.S., and they all promise to melt the flab right off your waistline. Now, you can put down $120 a shot on them to see if any of them work. We are desperate to lose our guts. We'll try everything and take a chance on just about anything.
   $59 here -- but, no, that one didn't work. $149 here -- but, no, that one didn't work, either. But, how about this one? It's only $99.95 and, like the others, it comes with a money-back guarantee. 

   Would someone please step in and help the guy who just wants to drop a little weight? He just needs someone to help him wind his way through the maze of programs. Which ones work and which ones don't?
   There are two ways of going about this:
   One, Create a federal agency to go in and evaluate the programs, reporting on which ones are effective and which ones aren't.
   Two, Create a website where consumers can report their experiences and discuss the products. To prevent the companies from overloading the results, list one testimonial for the program, and then one against it. When it gets to the point where just positive testimonials are left, print them all. By that time, the consumer will have already decided whether he or she is going to trust that program.