Karma Files: Dr. Oz Gets B*tch Slapped by Senator Claire McCaskill
We’ve been reviewing Dr. Oz featured weight loss products for several years now, for the simple reason that anything Oz features on his show generates a ton of interest, and accordingly, a ton of sales. But we’re not pleased with him for the simple reason that the things he recommends… well, they either have been proven not to work, or the science is preliminary, the results are exaggerated, there are conflicts of interest involved, or the methodology of the studies sucks.
In other words, Oz has been labeling things as “miracles” that have absolutely no reason to be labeled as such. And, as a trained medical doctor, he knows better. And yet he does so anyway… which certainly doesn’t say much for his character. Promoting magical solutions to a eager and gullible audience of fans is not a testament to his ethics. His show is a global showcase, and instead of using it to educate people to the realities of weight loss, he promotes miracles and bogus “no work” solutions.
Such things do not exist.
Anyhow, Oz got his recently—getting absolutely hammered by Sen. Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance, in a panel that was looking into false advertising for weight loss products.
Oz, they decided, was only making a bad situation worse. Here’s some of what went on, for the record…
“I can’t figure this out,” Senator Claire McCaskill prompted Mehmet Oz yesterday, from halfway across a capacious hearing room. Her tone implied that, at least to some degree, she had figured it out.
That was the reason her subcommittee summoned Oz to Washington.
“I get that you do a lot of good on your show. I understand that you give a lot of great information about health in a way that’s easily understandable. You’re very talented, you’re obviously very bright, and you’ve been trained in science-based medicine.” Accolades piled up until a buckling of decorum was imminent.
“Now, here are three statements you made on your show.”
McCaskill read Oz’s words from past segments of The Dr. Oz Show back to him with a clinical formality that underscored their absurdity:
“You may think magic is make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they’ve found the magic weight loss cure for every body type: It’s green coffee extract.”
“I’ve got the number-one miracle in a bottle to burn your fat: It’s raspberry ketone.”
“Garcinia cambogia: It may be the simple solution you’ve been looking for to bust your body fat for good.”
McCaskill continued, as if reproaching a child. “I don’t know why you need to say this stuff, because you know it’s not true. Why—when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate—would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?”
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