My mom has been a big fan of Doctor Oz for some time–at least since he got his own show in 2009, if not longer. It’s pretty easy to see why–Mehmet Oz’ stock in trade is making medicine easy for the average person to understand while telling viewers about “miracle” and “revolutionary” cures for weight loss and other everyday medical bugaboos. But a new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that much of what Oz says should be taken with a generous helping of salt. A group of Canadian medical researchers concluded that more than half of the claims Oz makes on-air are either unsupported by medical research or flat-out wrong.
The researchers, led by Christina Korownyk of the University of Alberta, reviewed 479 recommendations Oz made during the 2013 season. They found that the available evidence only supported Oz’ claims 46 percent of the time. For 39 percent of the claims, they couldn’t find evidence to back it up, and actually found evidence that directly contradicted 15 percent of the claims. “Believable or somewhat believable evidence” only supported 33 percent of Oz’ claims. Another popular doctor talk show, “The Doctors,” did slightly better. Not only were 63percent of the claims made on “The Doctors” supported by scientific evidence, and the hosts of “The Doctors” were more likely than Oz to recommend that their viewers consult a medical professional.
The apparent higher credibility of “The Doctors” was not enough to keep the researchers from strongly criticizing the entire doctor talk show concept. They argued that at most, only half of the claims and recommendations on those shows “are based on believable and somewhat believable evidence.” When you discuss healthcare issues, the study said, you need more than “non-specific recommendations based on little or no evidence.”
This study caps off a rather rough year for “America’s doctor.” In June, he attended a Senate subcommittee hearing on weight-loss product fraud. Senator Claire McCaskill gave him a public scolding, saying that he was peddling claims that he knew weren’t true. Last month, a study touting green coffee bean pills as a weight-loss supplement was retracted after being exposed as bogus. Oz had heavily touted the study, but has scrubbed virtually all evidence of it from his Website. And Benjamin Mazer, a third-year medical student at the University of Rochester, has asked the Medical Society of New York–where Oz is licensed–to treat health advice on television with the same scrutiny as expert testimony at trials.
Perhaps Oz should take a lesson from Bill Nye. After all, Nye built his brand on making science fun and easy to understand. But he was able to do so while being accurate. If Nye can do it, why can’t Oz?
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
