Celebrity doctors include

physicians A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

medical professional A health professional, healthcare professional (HCP), or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated as HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a Nursing, nur ...

s, people with the title

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, and some with the nickname "doctor" who have extensive media exposure. Some may have a secondary role as an entertainer. Examples of celebrity doctors include Dr. Drew, Dr. Miami, Dr. Oz, Dr. Ruth,

Dr. Phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), also known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author who is best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased ...

, Dr. Weil and Dr. Om Murti Anil.

Media

A "celebrity doctor" is a medical professional noted for appearances on television, the internet and social media, books, and speaking engagements. For many years, doctors such as Everett Koop,

Benjamin Spock Benjamin McLane Spock (May 2, 1903–March 15, 1998), widely known as Dr. Spock, was an American pediatrician, Olympian athlete and left-wing political activist. His book '' Baby and Child Care'' (1946) is one of the best-selling books of ...

, and

Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer (née Siegel; June 4, 1928 – July 12, 2024), better known as Dr. Ruth, was a German and American sex therapist and talk show host. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her paren ...

(Dr. Ruth) gave advice on the radio, on television, and in books. With the growth of the internet and social media, medical professionals had more places to reach the public, especially with messages alternative to mainstream medical advice. Celebrity doctors are part of a "healthcare–media complex" that constantly seeks new attention of consumers in the

24-hour news cycle The 24-hour news cycle (or 24/7 news cycle) is the 24-hour investigation and reporting of news, concomitant with fast-paced lifestyles. The vast news resources available in recent decades have increased competition for audience and advertiser a ...

with catchy content about health in order to achieve and maintain high ratings. There is a conflict between their roles and responsibilities as medical doctors, and their roles as business people and entertainers. Consumers generally trust that the content they receive from celebrity doctors is valid due to their credentials and their fame. Content may be exaggerated and simplified by the need to gain and keep the public's attention, and is often general and may not be applicable to an individual receiving the content. The problem of conflicts of interest becomes especially acute if a celebrity doctor endorses some specific product or approach to health when they deliver content about health, and also sells related products. Sometimes the content is dangerous because people who are sick waste time following poor or irrelevant advice and their illness advances and becomes more difficult to manage. In ''

The BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

s Christmas 2014 edition, a study determined that for the TV show '' The Doctors'', "evidence supported 63%, contradicted 14%, and was not found for 24%" of recommendations made by the panel of doctors, and for '' The Dr. Oz Show'', "evidence supported 46%, contradicted 15%, and was not found for 39%" of his recommendations; the study also said that "the public should be skeptical about recommendations made on medical talk shows."

List of celebrity doctors

* Robert Atkins and

Arthur Agatston Arthur Agatston (born January 22, 1947) is an American cardiologist and celebrity doctor best known as the developer of the South Beach Diet, but also as the author of many published scholarly papers in the field of noninvasive cardiac diagnosti ...

are examples of celebrity doctors who have created and promoted

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; ...

s * Om Murti Anil *

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author, New Age, new age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthi ...

* Henry Heimlich * Palaniappan Manickam a.k.a. Dr. Pal * Ginni Mansberg *

Phil McGraw Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), also known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author who is best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased ...

a.k.a. Dr. Phil (though he does not have a

medical license A medical license is an occupational license that permits a person to legally practice medicine. In most countries, a person must have a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government ...

) *

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Oz ( ; ; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz (), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sinc ...

David Perlmutter David Perlmutter (born December 31, 1954) is an American celebrity doctor, author, low-carbohydrate diet advocate and promoter of functional medicine. Perlmutter has been widely criticized by dietitians and physicians for promoting misinformat ...

* Drew Pinsky * Andrew Weil *Eriko Wakisaka * Hayden Kho * Nandipha Magudumana

Reality TV

*Several doctors from the UK have presented on the medical

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show ''

Embarrassing Bodies ''Embarrassing Bodies'' (formerly ''Embarrassing Illnesses'') is a British BAFTA Award-winning medical reality television programme broadcast by Channel 4 and made by Maverick Television since 2007. In 2011, an hour-long live show was introduc ...

'' (which has been praised for its service to public health) and have become celebrities, including Pixie McKenna, Dawn Harper, and Christian Jessen.

References

External links

* {{cite web , title=Life Matters: Health Matters: beware the celebrity doctor? (Downloadable audio) , url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/health-matters3a-celebrity-doctors/6419802 , publisher=ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) , language=en-AU , date=27 April 2015 Medical anthropology