approval is misleading. Though therapeutic massagers are regulated by the FDA, they are not necessarily examined by the agency and they don’t have to go through any approval process.
To its credit, the company that manufactures the Chi Machine, Hsin Ten Enterprise USA Inc., doesn’t promote the machine as a slimming device. “There’s no scientific evidence that [the machine] speeds weight loss, and we aren’t allowed to make that claim,” says Chris, a company representative who declined to give her last name. According to the company web site, the machine is useful for “local muscle relaxation and temporary relief from minor muscular aches due to overexertion.”
AbTronic
If you’ve wandered into the world of television infomercials lately, you’ve probably seen a pitch for the AbTtronic, “The Future of Fitness.” In the future, fitness apparently won’t require any actual effort.
The AbTronic is a slender belt that sends jolts of electricity to your muscles. With this device strapped around your midsection, you can feel your muscles twitch, or “exercise” while you read a