‘More than half of Oz’s advice baseless’

LONDON

Mehmet Oz’s ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ is one of the top five talk shows in the U.S. HÜRRİYET photo

New research has found that more than half of the medical advice from television’s Mehmet Oz is baseless or wrong, the Washington Post has reported. This includes the “miracles” and “revolutionary” breakthroughs he’s been spinning to viewers since the beginning of his celebrity career.

On Dec. 17, the British Medical Journal published a study analyzing claims made on medical talk shows. It found that medical research either did not substantiate or flat out contradicted more than half of Oz’s recommendations.

“Recommendations made on medical talk shows often lack adequate information on specific benefits or the magnitude of the effects of these benefits,” researchers stated.

“The public should be skeptical about recommendations made on medical talk shows.”

Oz has been facing skepticism since June, when Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) told him during a Congressional hearing that he gave people false hope, calling his segments a “recipe for disaster,” the Post reported. Last month, a study about coffee bean weight-loss pills he backed was retracted.

“The Dr. Oz Show” is one of the top five talk shows in the U.S.  “I haven’t seen a doctor in eight years,” a viewer told Oz. “I’m scared. You’re the only one I trust.”

The British Medical Journal picked 40 episodes from last year, which identified 479 different medical recommendations. It found that evidence only supported 46 percent of them, contradicted 15 percent and wasn’t available for 39 percent.

Oz contends that he’s just trying to give people options. “I recognize that oftentimes they don’t have the scientific muster to present as fact,” Oz said at the Congressional hearing.