The Fine Print Behind the Before-and-After

The Fine Print Behind the Before-and-After

Jun 27 , 2026. By Eden Sahle ( Eden Sahle is founder and CEO of Yada Technology Plc. She has studied law with a focus on international economic law. She can be reached at edensah2000@gmail.com. )

Obesity remains a major risk factor for hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, making weight loss an important public health goal. Ethiopia's growing nutrition industry has helped popularise healthier lifestyles, but some promotional campaigns now extend beyond nutrition into medical claims. Testimonials encouraging people to abandon medication without clinical oversight risk creating a false sense of recovery. Countries across the world regulate such advertising through strict evidence requirements. Ethiopia faces growing pressure to strengthen safeguards as online health marketing expands.

Not long ago, a friend proudly showed me before-and-after photos from a nutrition program. The transformation was remarkable. She had shed a significant amount of weight, looked healthier and spoke enthusiastically about how the program had changed her life.

Her story is no longer unusual. Over the past few years, Ethiopia has witnessed the rapid rise of nutrition and weight-management companies. Their advertisements flood social media, promising healthier lifestyles, personalised meal plans and dramatic weight loss. For the first time, large numbers of Ethiopians are paying close attention to nutrition, portion control, exercise and healthier habits.

I have also seen the benefits firsthand. Women have used nutritional counselling during pregnancy and after childbirth with remarkable results, gaining healthy pregnancy weight within medically recommended ranges before returning to healthier weights through disciplined eating and exercise. There is no question that proper nutrition can transform lives.

The concern begins when education turns into medical promises.

Many advertisements no longer stop at showcasing weight loss. They feature clients who claim to have lost 30, 40 or even 50kg and declare themselves free from hypertension, diabetes or liver disease. Such messages now reach millions of Ethiopians with little oversight and even fewer questions.

Modern medicine leaves little doubt that obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Excess body weight increases the likelihood of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, fatty liver disease, kidney disease and several forms of cancer. Weight loss through healthier eating and regular physical activity often improves blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and liver function while lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Improvement, though, should never be mistaken for a cure.

When dramatic testimonials suggest medication is no longer necessary, they create a dangerous illusion.

My own family understands that reality well. My mother developed hypertension during pregnancy more than two decades ago. Through discipline, healthy eating and exercise, she eventually lost nearly 60 kilograms. Her blood pressure now falls within normal ranges, yet her physician continues prescribing a low dose of medication and monitors her condition regularly.

The reason is straightforward. Hypertension is known as the silent killer because people often feel perfectly healthy while the disease quietly damages blood vessels, the heart, kidneys, brain and eyes. Years of harm can accumulate before symptoms appear. By the time patients realise something is wrong, the consequences may be irreversible.

I witnessed those consequences through one of my mother's friends. After losing substantial weight, she believed her hypertension had disappeared. Her blood pressure readings improved, so she stopped taking her medication. She never regained the weight and thought she had defeated the disease.

Less than a year later, she lost her eyesight, became partially paralysed and died from complications linked to uncontrolled hypertension. The disease had never disappeared. It simply remained hidden until the damage could no longer be reversed.

Stories like hers explain why health claims deserve careful scrutiny.

Medical experts acknowledge that substantial weight loss can place some people with Type 2 diabetes into remission, allowing blood sugar levels to remain normal without medication for a period. Yet remission is not necessarily permanent and requires continuous medical monitoring. Likewise, some patients with hypertension may reduce medication after losing weight, but such decisions belong to physicians, not commercial nutrition programs.

Type 1 diabetes makes the distinction even clearer. People with the condition do not produce enough insulin and require lifelong insulin therapy. No nutrition company can change that biological reality.

The problem is not that nutrition companies encourage healthier lifestyles. The problem is that some blur the line between nutritional support and medical treatment. When advertisements imply that weight loss alone can replace prescribed medicine, they risk encouraging people to abandon treatment, skip medical appointments or assume temporary improvement means permanent recovery.

Many countries have recognised this danger. The United States permits regulators to act against companies making unproven disease-treatment claims. The United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia and Canada all require health-related claims to be backed by robust scientific evidence and impose penalties for misleading advertising. The principle is simple: extraordinary health claims require evidence.

Ethiopia has strengthened health regulation through the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, while national policies increasingly recognise the growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Yet the rapid expansion of online nutrition coaching, wellness programs and social media marketing presents new regulatory challenges. Claims can spread to millions before anyone questions them.

Stronger safeguards are needed. Companies should clearly distinguish nutritional guidance from medical treatment. Testimonials involving disease outcomes should be supported by evidence, while claims about stopping medication should require medical verification. Regulators also need to monitor online advertising more actively and hold companies accountable for misleading health claims.

Healthy eating and exercise deserve celebration. They reduce disease risk, improve quality of life, lower medication requirements and, in some cases, help certain conditions enter remission. None of that should be used to suggest chronic diseases have disappeared or prescribed medicines are no longer necessary.

Nutrition companies have an important role to play in improving public health. They can help combat obesity and encourage healthier lifestyles. But once marketing crosses the line from education into medical promises, the cost may be measured not only in misleading advertisements but also in human lives. The goal should never be to sell the dream of abandoning medicine. It should be to help people live healthier, longer lives alongside qualified healthcare professionals.

PUBLISHED ON Jun 27,2026 [ VOL 27 , NO 1365]