Ineffective slimming programs

This article was published in the New York Times first, and reprinted in the International Herald Tribune. It was about the ineffectiveness of slimming treatment through a restricted American study (due to no companies would cooperate with the researchers). This industry (might include health and detox food etc.) is one of the booming businesses in Hong Kong nowadays.

There is no such research revealed in the city yet. But I have the impression of a local TV program (of TVB I guess) about how a treatment center "pushed" its client (also marked as its future spokesperson) to make thin. If possible, I am interested to see the effectiveness of those local weight-loss programs by academic researches.