University of Westminster: FOIA Request

Here are the details of my Freedom of Information request following on from my recent posts about the University’s research into detox body wraps:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have been trying to track down the details of research conducted by the University of Westminster School of Biosciences into body wraps. This research was reported on by the Daily Mail (apparently on 18th May 2009). They wrote that: “A new study by scientists at the University of Westminster has shown that one in particular, the Universal Contour Wrap, really does work. Not only that, it works in 100 per cent of cases, and the results last for at least a month.”

I would like to know if this study has been published in a journal (and, if so, which journal).

I would also like to know how the Daily Mail got hold of the research in order to write an article about it. Was there any contact between the university and the newspaper?

I would also be interested in any further details that you are able to provide me with (e.g. study sponsor; technical details – methods, results).

If the School of Biosciences has any comment on the following quote from the Daily Mail article then I would be delighted to hear it: “The idea behind this wrap is that the combination of detoxifying mineral-rich clay and specialist body-wrapping techniques will compress fatty tissue, leaving you tighter and more toned. The clay solution is absorbed by the skin, drawing out toxins that are expelled through the pores.”

Yours faithfully,
James Cole

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Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I can go back to blogging about vitamin pill entrepeneurs. The University must reply within a maximum of twenty working days. Thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions regarding my efforts to extract information from the U of W.