Dr. Mehmet Oz was asked to testify in front of a U.S. Senate Transport, Commerce and Science subcommitte on fraudulent weight loss products. It is a subject he knows a fair bit about. After all he has promoted everything from raspberry ketone and green coffee bean extract to acai berries, garcinia cambogia, Yakin syrup, mango seed extract, sea buckthorn, forskolin, saffron extract, capsiberry and FBCx. What do these have in common? A lack of evidence of efficacy. Oz claims to have “passionately studied” the products but the documentation he studied must have been furnished by the promoters. Why was he called to testify in front of this committee instead of true experts on weight control? Because of the “Oz Effect,” which is very real. He has legions of quasi-religious followers who hang on his every word. But with such power comes the burden of responsibility. He has the pulpit. He does do some good things. But he much too readily dives into the abyss of nonsense.
Oz was really taken to task by Senator Clair McCaskill of Missouri over hyping supplements that promise the moon without evidence and then presenting himself as a champion dedicated to fighting the fraudsters. It is true that he did go after some fraudsters, not because they were promoting products that do not work, but because they were using his name to promote them. Of course his “whistleblowing” also made for good TV. Actually the fraudsters weren't saying anything other than what Oz himself had said on his show about "magical" green coffee bean extract or the "miracle" of garcinia cambogia. He defended his portrayal of these products by waving around some studies, an impressive TV moment. But if anyone cared to actually read the studies they would quickly see the absence of any miracle.
Oz made a big deal of the fact that he doesn't sell any supplements. That's true. But he has repeatedly had cranks like Joe Mercola and Mike Adams and a host of others who sell a bevy of supplements including the ones Oz talks about. Having these characters on the show endorses them and by association their antics as well. Oz claims that he uses flowery language to promote products because he regards himself as a cheerleader for weight loss, and while he admits none of his recommendations other than diet and exercise lead to long term weight loss, they can “jump start” a weight loss regimen. And where is the evidence for that? There isn't any.
He did introduce a humorous element into the discussion when he claimed the only mistake he had made was not giving a list of "reputable" companies that sell the products he has "researched." That in his view would undercut the fly-by-night operators who sell disreputable supplements. Really? His problem is that a supplement marketed as "raspberry ketone" may not actually contain this chemical, not that raspberry ketone just doesn't work for weight loss?
After much well deserved chastising he promised to be a good boy and use less "flowery" language in the future. He also said he hadn't talked about miracles for two years at which point Senator McCaskill came out with a couple of recent examples including one about Oz talking about an "itzy bitzy pill that will flush fat right out of your body." Unfortunately the camera didn't show his face at this time. Finally Oz said that he would right his wrongs by publicizing a list of companies that can be trusted to sell supplements that meet his standards. And what dietary supplements are there that can actually cause weight loss? Ephedra was one and would have been alright had it not killed people. Now of course ephedra supplements are illegal. Other than that, perhaps some sort of fibre pill (FBCx is the one he promotes) but even here the evidence is poor. About as poor as Oz's performance in front of the Senate subcommittee. And they didn't even ask him about his penchant for "therapeutic touch" or his recommendation for "Derriere Diet Butt-Busting Brownies" or about fawning over guests on his show who claim to talk to the dead.
