Dr. Oz scolded at Senate hearing on weight loss scams

WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from Congress, celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz offered yesterday to help "drain the swamp" of unscrupulous marketers using his name to peddle so-called miracle pills and cure-alls to millions of Americans desperate to lose weight.

Appearing before the Senate's consumer protection panel, Oz was scolded by chairwoman Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) for claims he made about weight-loss aids on his TV program, "The Dr. Oz Show."

Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, acknowledged that his language about green coffee and other supplements has been "flowery" and he promised to publish a list of specific products he thinks can help America shed pounds and get healthy -- beyond eating less and moving more. On his show, he never endorsed companies or brands but more generally praised some health supplements as fat busters.

McCaskill took Oz to task for a 2012 show in which he proclaimed that green coffee bean extract was a "magic weight loss cure for every body type."

"I get that you do a lot of good on your show," she told Oz, but "I don't get why you need to say this stuff, because you know it's not true."

Oz insisted he believes in the supplements he talks about as short-term crutches and even has his family try them. He said his job on the show is to be a "cheerleader," one who offers hope, even if that means looking to alternative healing traditions and any evidence that might support them. But Oz did agree there's no long-term miracle pill without diet and exercise.

Within weeks of Oz's comments about the green unroasted seeds or beans of coffee, a Florida-based operation began marketing a dietary supplement called Pure Green Coffee, with claims that the chlorogenic acid in the beans could help people lose 17 pounds and cut body fat by 16 percent in 22 weeks.

The company, according to federal regulators, featured footage from the Oz show to sell its supplement. Oz has no association with the firm and received no money from sales.

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission sued the sellers behind Pure Green Coffee, accusing them of bogus claims and deceiving consumers.

Consumers are particularly vulnerable to fraud in the weight-loss industry, Mary Koelbel Engle, an associate director at the FTC, testified at the Senate hearing. She said an FTC consumer survey in 2011 found that more consumers were victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than of any of the other specific frauds.

Oz stressed that he has never endorsed specific health supplements or received money from their sale. Nor has he allowed his image to be used in ads for supplements, he said.