Why I Wish I Could Fire Dr. Oz
Oh, Dr. Mehmet Oz! The Brad Pitt of the medical world. Swooned by millions of fans and followers, it is difficult to escape his name in the health field today.
Initially a medical correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey show, Dr. Oz has been blessed by Oprah’s midas touch. He has skyrocketed into fame within a matter of years, receiving his own television show and website.
But somewhere between his quiet, old life and new found fame has come criticism, voices of doctors and researchers calling foul. Peers in the scientific community have become concerned over the ethics of his practices. Specifically, they have called into question whether this famous man is meeting his duties as a licensed, medical doctor.
The debate surrounding Dr. Oz has been beautifully described in the recent article by Julia Belluz and Steven J. Hoffman (http://tinyurl.com/bxlkr4g). These two authors echo my sentiments on Dr. Oz, and highlight his failure to use research to justify his actions (evidence-based practice). He is often found subtly endorsing products, despite explicitly saying on air that he himself is not the vendor.
Sneaky, sneaky Dr. Oz! Your words may meet legal requirements, but your actions defy ethics. How can you discuss, in great detail, a supplement that has no proof to be effective?
As a registered dietitian and fellow health professional, there are several reasons why I believe Dr. Oz should not be seen as an authority in nutrition.
The first is that I feel he has severely misused his power and credibility as a well-educated and respected physician. He has seemingly let his duties as a doctor fall to the wayside in greater pursuits of dollars and cents (well, more like millions of dollars and cents).
His messages feed into our cultural obsessions, just as any Cosmo magazine would. His shows start with sensationalist titles and flashes of audience members gasping. Could this introduction be anymore enticing? Many episodes focus on anti-aging and weight loss products, again feeding into our Western cultural need to be slim and youthful. His messages are inconsistent with what I as a dietitian try to promote to my clients, resulting in a ‘one step forward, two step back’ predicament.
I’ll admit: I used to like Dr. Oz. I adored his Oprah days when he amazed audiences with facts about the human body, and toyed with cadaver organ samples. But since then, he has been consumed by the marketing monster. He now struggles to juggle two roles: that of doctor, and that of celebrity.
His fifteen minutes of fame may be nearing its end, but I can only help but wonder how far-reaching his influence has been and how long it will last. It may be time to give this doctor his pink slip and get back to promoting what it truly means to be healthy.
