The government is urging television, newspapers and magazines to stop carrying deceptive advertising with promises like "eat all you want and lose weight" or "lose weight while you sleep."

"Reputable media should be embarrassed by some of the ads that run," Howard Beales, director of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection bureau, said Wednesday. "The claims are so ridiculous."

Beales said he believes that publishers and cable TV executives want to cooperate, but if they don't, regulators could consider legal action.

The FTC has brought 97 lawsuits since 1990 against companies it accused of marketing phony weight-loss products, winning million in restitution to consumers and other financial remedies. FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris has been meeting with media industry leaders to encourage self-regulation, saying that law enforcement can't keep up with the growing number of phony weight-loss schemes - many run by people outside the United States or hiding behind aliases or middlemen.

The FTC plans to come up with a short list of weight-loss claims that clearly don't stand up to scientific scrutiny, in hopes that media executives will ban ads that make those promises.

Muris praised the major broadcast TV networks for strong screening practices, but acknowledged that most media outlets can't meet that standard.

"We are talking about screening out the most egregious examples - weight-loss earrings or shoe insoles, pills that tell consumers they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight, and products that make physically implausible promises like 'lose 30 pounds in 30 days,'" the chairman told media representatives at a meeting Tuesday.

(Agencies)