New You is the glossy consumer-centric magazine that covers a wide range of cosmetic surgery-related topics and captures some important news in the aesthetic world. I ran across an article on its Web site (also published in the printed version) that seems to have slipped past the censors — an alarmingly pro-hGC diet piece that basically leaves out even a mention of how this controversial diet regimen could be quite harmful to human health, is very under-tested, and deserves a skeptical approach. 

They call on Sasson Moulavi, MD, a Florida-based “bariatric physician” who has set about studying the pros and cons of the hGC diet and its effects. In reading the article, one gets the sense the result is a foregone conclusion. To bolster that unsubstantiated conclusion, the cover of New You’s Spring 2011 edition carries the cutline, “HCG: Weight Loss That Works.” [removed]And Now For the Proof[/removed]:

“There is a clear trend that people using HCG are happier with the weight loss, find it easier to achieve the weight loss, and seem to be happier in terms of how they feel, their energy levels, their skin condition, etc.,” says Dr. Moulavi, who began his clinical trials in January to prove the concept.

Previous research has been less than conclusive, says Dr. Moulavi, for a simple reason: motivation. “A lot of scientists don’t understand that the people who took the (HCG in the earlier trials) didn’t pay for it. Here they pay it, and this commitment is key, to make them do the injections. When I give programs away for free, patients do not do well.”

And now for something completely skeptical of hGC and the fad surrounding it; namely, the opinion of a physician who clearly questions its use as a weight loss solution. From Peter Gott, MD, of Canton, Ohio:

HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone found in pregnant women. It is currently prescribed by physicians as a fertility treatment. I believe this diet has gained popularity because it appeals to the American mentality of getting what you want without putting in the necessary effort. I also believe that this is not a wholly safe diet; therefore, I cannot condone it. There is the saying “anything worth doing is worth doing right.” That means taking responsibility and making positive changes in eating and exercise habits.

Back to New You, which also published a [removed]companion article[/removed] that projects a curiously un-journalistic view of hGC. There’s a lot of pro here but not much con… unless you consider the whole spin on hGC herein to be a con job of sorts.