A class action has been filed against TV self-help authority Dr. Phil McGraw and nutritional supplement manufacturer CSA Nutraceuticals on behalf of all persons who have purchased Shape Up! weight-loss products. The action alleges that the products are being advertised in a deceptive and untruthful manner, in violation of California consumer protection laws, and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

McGraw has been endorsing the Shape Up! products - which include nutrition bars, weight-management supplements, so-called "intensifier" pills to increase the effectiveness of other pills, and meal-replacement shakes - since they went on sale last year. The lawsuit was filed after the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest raised serious questions about the products' effectiveness. The Shape Up! pills are advertised as having different formulas effective for apple-shaped or pear-shaped body types. The Shape Up! Web site defines these types:

• Apple body types store excess fat in their stomach region and need more help with metabolizing carbohydrates.

• Pear body types store excess fat around their hips and thighs - areas more resistant to weight-loss efforts.

But an investigation by the Center found the pills for each body type are practically identical. The pills cost consumers $60 a month if they take the recommended 12 a day.

The lawsuit also alleges that the manufacturers falsely claim that some of the products contain "scientifically researched levels of ingredients that can help you change your behavior to take control of your weight." The Center, however, found that there is no credible scientific evidence that the products or their ingredients individually or in combination have any effect on behavior. Rather, its report indicates that Dr. Phil's Shape Up! Shakes are made from "just a run-of-the-mill powder made from milk, fiber and vitamins." The same report states that the nutrition bars, made from sugars, oil, soy protein, fiber and still more vitamins, seem formulated without the help of Dr. Phil's book, "The Ultimate Weight Solution," which declares sugars and fats "off-limits if you want to successfully control your weight."

CSA Nutraceuticals is housed in the same offices as Courtroom Sciences, Inc., McGraw's own litigation-consulting firm. CSA's president is Gary Dobbs, McGraw's partner at Courtroom Sciences, and its chief operating officer is Brent Dobbs, Gary Dobbs' son. It was as a trial consultant that McGraw met Oprah Winfrey, when she hired him to help her fight a lawsuit by Texas cattlemen. This alliance ultimately led to McGraw's weekly appearances on her show and, eventually, to his own daytime series. Winfrey appears to be less than enthralled by the products, having said, "I feel that a person should own their own name and make their own choices." When she recently launched her own weight-loss series with country singer Wynonna Judd, McGraw's plan and products were nowhere to be found.