The Consumer Council warns that some magazine advertisements offering rapid height increases in adolescents and adults are medically groundless.

They often promise rapid height increase through therapy, drugs, devices and the skills of professionals, without surgery or injection. Some claim to use the most advanced technology to "re-activate the soft tissues between the bones" to achieve growth of up to five inches.

The council sought the expert opinion of the Medical and Physiotherapy Associations on the claims, and both doubt their validity, saying they are medically groundless based on mistaken notions.

They said height gain is outside the scope of physiotherapy. The so-called physiotherapies administered at the beauty centres are unorthodox and none of the staff are qualified physiotherapists, only beauticians. They said the claim that height increase is attainable at any age is misleading as the body ceases height growth after puberty.

Only surgery or drug injection can increase height and there is no scientific evidence to back up any so-called "advanced technology" in gaining height.

The council said there is no specific legislation governing misleading advertisements in the print media. It calls on the Government to extend the scope of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance to cover false or misleading trade descriptions on services. Only goods are currently covered.