An open letter to Doctor Oz
kikityme
Posts: 472 Member
An open letter to “Dr.” Oz.:
My whole life I have been fat. There have been ups and downs, but it always comes back to that. My whole life there have been snake oil salesmen offering me an easy fix. Two pills a day, and I can be skinny just like this mystery tribe in the Amazon nobody has heard of until this past year.
After the first couple hundred dollars I gave up. No matter how late at night I was watching TV and eating Fritos I would NOT pick up that phone. Sure, I’d spend the rest of the night dreaming that there was a pill out there, and I could forget about the work I would surely have to do to get rid of this weight that went on so enjoyably.
And then you came along. So charming and engaging. You were on TV. Oh, you didn’t start off as a salesman I’m sure. I remember watching you as you progressed. You started off with interesting facts about my body. You had engaging visual aids. Every show wasn’t about a new magical weight loss cure.
This letter won’t affect you in any way, I’m sure you sleep like a baby at night, most likely on 1800 count Egyptian cotton sheets. But I want to explain to you the effect you have on people like me. And I want to explain what Gross Moral Turpitude is Sir. Because unlike the person you seem to think I am, I am fat, NOT stupid.
What you do when you pitch these quick fixes from your pedestal of trust is steal time. The time I spend researching your raspberry ketones or your garcinia cambogia is time I could be researching valid exercise programs or planning my meals for the week. You rob me of my ability to think for myself. You fill my head with hope that has zero chance of being fulfilled. I am a smart woman, but I am still human, and oh, don’t you work that angle.
Gross Moral Turpitude: conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals.
When you were first offered that contract to push raspberry ketones and have your face plastered all over the internet, did you have a qualm of guilt? I’m genuinely curious. When you see your face all over Facebook “informing” us of the “latest wait loss brekthrough!!!!” [misspelling intentional] do you pause for a moment?
You have broken every rule of good morals, and you actively hurt and dismiss the community you preach to so convincingly. For make no mistake-at this point you are less a doctor and more a preacher.
In a country that has so many lawsuits, I'm not sure why you haven't been targeted yet, but I cheer the day. The harm you cause, is long lasting.
My whole life I have been fat. There have been ups and downs, but it always comes back to that. My whole life there have been snake oil salesmen offering me an easy fix. Two pills a day, and I can be skinny just like this mystery tribe in the Amazon nobody has heard of until this past year.
After the first couple hundred dollars I gave up. No matter how late at night I was watching TV and eating Fritos I would NOT pick up that phone. Sure, I’d spend the rest of the night dreaming that there was a pill out there, and I could forget about the work I would surely have to do to get rid of this weight that went on so enjoyably.
And then you came along. So charming and engaging. You were on TV. Oh, you didn’t start off as a salesman I’m sure. I remember watching you as you progressed. You started off with interesting facts about my body. You had engaging visual aids. Every show wasn’t about a new magical weight loss cure.
This letter won’t affect you in any way, I’m sure you sleep like a baby at night, most likely on 1800 count Egyptian cotton sheets. But I want to explain to you the effect you have on people like me. And I want to explain what Gross Moral Turpitude is Sir. Because unlike the person you seem to think I am, I am fat, NOT stupid.
What you do when you pitch these quick fixes from your pedestal of trust is steal time. The time I spend researching your raspberry ketones or your garcinia cambogia is time I could be researching valid exercise programs or planning my meals for the week. You rob me of my ability to think for myself. You fill my head with hope that has zero chance of being fulfilled. I am a smart woman, but I am still human, and oh, don’t you work that angle.
Gross Moral Turpitude: conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals.
When you were first offered that contract to push raspberry ketones and have your face plastered all over the internet, did you have a qualm of guilt? I’m genuinely curious. When you see your face all over Facebook “informing” us of the “latest wait loss brekthrough!!!!” [misspelling intentional] do you pause for a moment?
You have broken every rule of good morals, and you actively hurt and dismiss the community you preach to so convincingly. For make no mistake-at this point you are less a doctor and more a preacher.
In a country that has so many lawsuits, I'm not sure why you haven't been targeted yet, but I cheer the day. The harm you cause, is long lasting.
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Replies
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:drinker: I think he started off meaning well, and it's not like he personally needs the money, given that he's a highly successful surgeon. Nor is he stupid, obviously. But somehow his show has been hijacked and turned into a sideshow. Every once in awhile something interesting gets said, but it's drowned out by the sales pitch for the latest fad. It's sad, really.0
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Also, well said OP. Well said.
Feel free to join this group...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/21066-oz-sux0 -
:drinker: I think he started off meaning well, and it's not like he personally needs the money, given that he's a highly successful surgeon. Nor is he stupid, obviously. But somehow his show has been hijacked and turned into a sideshow. Every once in awhile something interesting gets said, but it's drowned out by the sales pitch for the latest fad. It's sad, really.
Highly successful surgeons make a few hundred thousand dollars a year, not the millions he is making now.0 -
Wait...you mean this ISN"T TRUE???? But it's in a magazine!
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Wait...you mean this ISN"T TRUE???? But it's in a magazine!
I'd like to throat punch him for this alone!!!0 -
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Wait...you mean this ISN"T TRUE???? But it's in a magazine!
How dare you crush my dreams! HAHAHA :-)0 -
VERY good letter!
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Wait...you mean this ISN"T TRUE???? But it's in a magazine!
I can't even BELIEVE I forgot the magazines! My favorite is that it's the same cover every week. Weight loss fad in 72 pt bold Arial, and glorious full colour photos of a dessert.0 -
Well said! Snake oil salesman for sure!0
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Luckily I had enough common sense to not even bother with him in the first place.0
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I don't know what happened to Dr. Oz. he could have used his platform for education, but he is a salesman, and not a good one. He changes his product daily. I like The doctors better,0
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:drinker:
Well said!0 -
:drinker: I think he started off meaning well, and it's not like he personally needs the money, given that he's a highly successful surgeon. Nor is he stupid, obviously. But somehow his show has been hijacked and turned into a sideshow. Every once in awhile something interesting gets said, but it's drowned out by the sales pitch for the latest fad. It's sad, really.
Highly successful surgeons make a few hundred thousand dollars a year, not the millions he is making now.
Fair enough. He could have done a few shows and still quit while he had his reputation intact if upper middle class wasn't good enough for him, though.0 -
Great letter0
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Wait...you mean this ISN"T TRUE???? But it's in a magazine!
This magazine cracks me up too, every issue has a miracle diet right next to some decadent dessert0 -
Let me start by saying I do not like Dr. Oz, i do think he pitches quick fixes and spreads fear through his show. However, he does not actually endorse products you see him attached to onlin, and the facebook ads are also using him without his consent. He often states this on his show or in interviews, he does not sell supplements, and the ads will use any face that sells.0
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I say we make this go viral.0 -
:drinker: I think he started off meaning well, and it's not like he personally needs the money, given that he's a highly successful surgeon. Nor is he stupid, obviously. But somehow his show has been hijacked and turned into a sideshow. Every once in awhile something interesting gets said, but it's drowned out by the sales pitch for the latest fad. It's sad, really.
Highly successful surgeons make a few hundred thousand dollars a year, not the millions he is making now.
Fair enough. He could have done a few shows and still quit while he had his reputation intact if upper middle class wasn't good enough for him, though.
Agreed
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Let me start by saying I do not like Dr. Oz, i do think he pitches quick fixes and spreads fear through his show. However, he does not actually endorse products you see him attached to onlin, and the facebook ads are also using him without his consent. He often states this on his show or in interviews, he does not sell supplements, and the ads will use any face that sells.
Have you actually watched his show? He LITERALLY endorses weight loss pills. On his show. As a doctor. I've watched him tote raspberry ketones and that garnacia something, pretty sure he did hoodia too. I don't see how you can say he doesn't endorse products. He does, and is a terrible person for using his title as a medical doctor to make money off peoples ignorance.0 -
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:drinker: I think he started off meaning well, and it's not like he personally needs the money, given that he's a highly successful surgeon. Nor is he stupid, obviously. But somehow his show has been hijacked and turned into a sideshow. Every once in awhile something interesting gets said, but it's drowned out by the sales pitch for the latest fad. It's sad, really.
Highly successful surgeons make a few hundred thousand dollars a year, not the millions he is making now.
Fair enough. He could have done a few shows and still quit while he had his reputation intact if upper middle class wasn't good enough for him, though.
Why would he quit? He still makes a lot of money doing this.
Everyone is missing the point. His goal was never to ACTUALLY help people. His goal was to use his credentials to influence people to spend money on products he endorsed and drum up viewership so he could rake in more advertising money by engaging in nutritional fearmongering, which is an extremely lucrative business. The biggest lie he ever sold was that he actually gave a poop about anyone other than himself.
He's no different than all the other "doctors" out there who have written anti-*insert demon food item here* nutrition books and make hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions by scaring the living crap out of people and making them believe that there's some huge conspiracy to poison them within the food industry.0 -
Yes! :drinker: To you! Absolutely a snake oil salesman. I see the stuff all over Facebook and laugh at it. But, sadly, my mom is vulnerable to stuff like that and she religiously takes her raspberry ketones. I tell her she is wasting her money and that they aren't doing anything, but she insists that there is "research" proving their "effectiveness." Sigh. High five OP for this post!0
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VERY well said! From a woman who has also spend much too much money on dexatrim, Hydrocut, quicktrim, advocare, Ace, metabolife (back in the day), slimfast, green tea extract miracle pills, etc, etc.. I can relate. I find his salespitch on new "miracle"cures a disgrace to his title as a "Doctor" he is, as you said nothing more than a snakeoil salesman and has no respect from me!0
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He's no different than all the other "doctors" out there who have written anti-*insert demon food item here* nutrition books and make hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions by scaring the living crap out of people and making them believe that there's some huge conspiracy to poison them within the food industry.
Isn't that enough? But I will say this, can you *name* -- off the top of your head -- one of those other doctors?0 -
As long as the audience keeps buying into the idea that there is an easy way to success, there will always be a seller.0
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This guy is one of the main reasons why both my mother and aunt - who are both close to 300 lbs - will never lose weight. They put so much credence in everything he says. Mom is always telling me what I should do to lose weight ..um I've lost almost 80 lbs without him, why would I start listening to him now ROFL!0
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:drinker:0
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I know a woman who sits in an epsom salt bath for a half hour EVERY time she has plans to go out in public because Dr. Oz said it would make her lose 2-5 pounds instantly. Unfortunately, for every truly dedicated person trying to make positive changes in their lives like OP, there are two or three dim-witted, pill-popping stepford wives who buy into gallons of his snakeoil quick fixes and gimmicks and make Dr. Oz and his ilk filthy stinky rich and pervasive in the media.0
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