A Showman, Not Your Doctor

by Meg Meranus

Did you know this?

Last week, Capitol Hill Senators grilled the host for some of the weight loss products he has promoted on his talk show. Members of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance particularly took issue with his support of green coffee bean extract as a weight loss product, even though there is little scientific evidence of these pills’ effectiveness. One study even found that the beans caused diabetes symptoms in mice.

“The scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called ‘miracles,’” said Subcommittee chair Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri). I don’t get why you need to say this stuff when you know it’s not true. When you have this amazing megaphone, why would you cheapen your show? … With power comes a great deal of responsibility.”

Here is why we want to trust him:

  1. Oprah introduced him to us
  2. He has a weekly talk show (so he must be right!????)
  3. He is a doctor so he wants to help us
  4. He doesn’t make overweight people feel bad- he “understands.”
  5. He has a big profile, so we tend to want to believe that what he says is true, and that many others agree with us.

But remember this, please:

  1. Oprah still struggles with her weight- if Dr. Oz had the answers, don’t you think she would too?
  2. He has to fill a lot of time and keep the energy and excitement high to keep his show popular.  So he must keep it “fresh” with the latest and greatest new medical “cure” for all that ails us, especially body fat- even if the evidence isn’t there.
  3. People have a lot of respect for doctors, even when they are wrong.  Their “scrubs” and lab coats have an effect on us..
  4. He is good at communicating sympathy and understanding of weight issues- so we want to believe him
  5. Just because someone is on TV a lot and has a platform to speak, doesn’t make them right.  It makes them good at selling products.

So as you try to figure out the way to keep healthy, get and stay at your ideal weight, and be stress free, please remember that your thin mentality will get you there quicker than following the guru of the day.

Your body is smart, deserves respect, and deserves to be listened to.  Creating a thin mentality is about reconnecting

  • eating with hunger
  • joy with food
  • your body with your ideal weight

Yes, you can do this.  Step one is to stop listening to the experts and start listening to that beautiful voice inside you.  ARE YOU HUNGRY?  And remember, if you aren’t hungry now and you want to be because you “want” to eat, don’t worry!!  Hunger is always just around the corner…  right?

Back to News