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During a Senate panel hearing on deceptive advertising practices for weight loss products, Mehmet Oz - better known as Dr. Oz - has pioneered the field of marketing products that are not actually proven to help people lose weight. For years, the TV doctor has come under heavy criticism from the medical and legal communities for promoting what many health profession claim to be "shams" or get-thin-quick diet pills and associated "miracle" products.
Dr. Oz was invited to testify during the Senate panel on Public Health and Science because of his experience in the field. He was invited to specifically offer expertise on the danger of over-the-counter diet pills and other products. He agreed with much of what was said in regards to the inappropriate marketing of products with no proven benefits. Yet, at times, he spent uncomfortable, tension-filled exchanges this morning - getting berated by U.S. Senators for the things he has said and continues to say about the products he frequently and exuberantly promotes on his television programs.
It is estimated that American's spend $55 billion per year on weight-loss products. In a stroke of luck, nearly every product endorsed by Dr. Oz has seen its sales increase dramatically. This phenomenon has even been given a name: "The Dr. Oz effect."
Dr. Oz's television show has an estimated audience of over 2.5 million viewers. He shares his "miracle" diet products with them with the same vigor of Oprah Winfrey, sharing her new favorite novel. Not unlike Oprah, Dr. Oz's words carry a lot of weight with his viewers and in the weight loss community and can boost sales for products that carry his endorsement.
"You're very talented, you're obviously very bright. You've been trained in science-based medicine," McCaskill said. "But I don't get why you need to say this stuff, because you know it's not true - the scientific community is almost monolithically against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called miracles.'"
The Democratic Senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill would later refer to Dr. Oz and Donald Trump as "snake oil salesmen" in an interview Thursday morning with MSNBC's "Morning Joe."