Community Corner

Poll: Do You Trust Dr. Oz?

TV Dr. Mehmet Oz faced a Senate hearing on bogus weight-loss supplements.

Should the government crackdown on weight-loss supplements that make claims they can't backup?

Celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz has faced criticism for extolling the virtues of what some say are bogus weight-loss supplements. Although Oz has not endorsed specific products, companies have jumped on any opportunity to capitalize on his words.

If Oz says green bean coffee extract might help with weight loss, expect a Pure Green Coffee to start selling nationwide.

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Oz appeared before a senate hearing on bogus weight-loss ads this week, NBC reported. "“I don’t get why you need to say this stuff because you know it’s not true,” Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat said at the hearing. “So why, when you have this amazing megaphone…why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?”

McCaskill went on to say that when Oz features a product on his show he helps perpetuate a scam, boosts sales of bogus products and encourages others to follow suit.

However, Oz Countered that he believes in the items he has featured on the show and studied their effectiveness, Forbes reported.

Oz said that he does not sell any of the products and at times has sued companies that use his image, NBC News reported. Oz admitted that his statements on his show have sometimes allowed the unscrupulous to take advantage of him and the public.

"I never told them where to go to buy the products. I wanted to stay above the fray and I felt ... that if I talked about specific companies selling high quality products it would seem like I was supporting those companies," Oz said. "So that opened a huge market for folks to just go and make fake stuff."

The Oz kerfuffle mushroomed after the Federal Trade Commission sued Pure Green Coffee for using false weight loss claims and news sites to market itself.

The FTC stated that green coffee bean extract was touted on The Dr. Oz Show as a potent weight loss treatment. Although no specific product was mentioned, weeks later Pure Green Coffee began selling nationwide at a price of $50 for a one month supply.

"[Product websites] featured footage from The Dr. Oz Show, supposed consumer endorsements, and purported clinical proof that dieters could lose weight rapidly without changing their diet or exercise regimens," the FTC stated.

The Dr. Oz Show has aired since 2009 and was created by Oprah Winfrey. Oz first became famous by appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Forbes listed the top controversial items Oz has featured on his show including "Saffron Extract," which Oz touted as a "miracle appetite suppressant." Saffron extract is a spice used in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking.

Forbes points out that its impossible to know if any of the items touted by Oz actually work because of a lack of proper studies on them.



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