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11/21/2024 11:41:18 pm

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Dr. Oz Questioned by Congress on His Promotion of Weight Loss Products

Dr. Oz of popular medical show, The Dr. Oz Show, was grilled by lawmakers on Tuesday when he testified on a hearing on false advertising of weight loss products.

Democratic Senator and chair of the subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance Claire McCaskill questioned Oz's promotion of "miracle" weight loss products on his show without concrete evidence to back it up, CNN reported.

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"Your credibility is being maligned by fraudsters and frankly being threatened by the notion that anybody can take an itty bitty pill to push fat out of their system," she said.

"The scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called 'miracles'. I don't get why you need to say these stuff when you know it's not true."

She added that she had no problems with diet celebrity endorsements but said that he had a greater responsibility to the public since he's viewed as a credible authority because of his medical background.

In response, Oz defended his actions stating that although he does use "flowery language" to describe certain products, it is because he believes their efficacy. He has even given them to his family to take, he added.

"My job, I feel, on the show is to be a cheerleader for the audience, and when they don't think they have hope, when they don't think they can make it happen, I want to look, and I do look everywhere, including alternative healing traditions, for any evidence that might be supportive to them."

He claimed that he cannot be held responsible for the methods employed by companies and websites who advertise their products and stated that he has consciously toned down his language and will officially release a list of products that he thinks will really help people lose weight.

"In addition to exercising an abundance of caution in discussing promising research and products in the future, I look forward to working with all those present today in finding a way to deal with the problems of weight loss scams," he said.

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Pure Green Coffee - a product that appeared in Oz's show - for false advertising on weight-loss claims, according to CBS News.

In response, Oz had conducted his own trial with the green coffee extract. Half of the participants were given the actual product while the other half received a placebo. After 2 weeks, his team found that those who took the supplement lost an average of 2 pounds while those who took the placebo lost an average of 1 pound.

Under the current dietary supplement act signed in 1994, testing of supplements are solely handled by the manufacturer under its discretion. Last year, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Dick Durbin introduced the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act, to revise the current regulations and would require all supplement manufacturers to register their products with the FDA and include more information on the product labels.

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