The Effects of Dr. Oz on Health Behaviors and Attitudes

Background:  Consumption of social media has quickly evolved into a primary source of health information for many consumers. This seems to be particularly true for individuals seeking to modify chronic health conditions like weight loss, obesity, and obesity-related diseases.  Purpose:  This study explores whether watching Dr. Oz weight loss episodes influences a viewer's health behaviors around obesity and weight loss.  Methods:  Changes in lifestyle habits were evaluated with pre- and post-wellness surveys. Dependent  t  tests were used to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the self-reported behaviors of the control and Dr. Oz group before and after the study time period.  Results:  Preintervention and postintervention surveys suggest that health television shows were not likely to influence health behaviors for most of the participants. A statistically significant result from one of the survey questions demonstrates the need for an expanded study with a more generalizable population.  Discussion:  Results reveal the need for health professionals to better understand where patients receive health information and how information received from social media sources is utilized.  Translation to Health Education Practice:  Social media may be a useful device for health promotion by practitioners to reach their patients.