According to the charity Sense About Science, top celebrities, ranging from Madonna to Tom Cruise, are seldom shy about giving their opinions on health and science, even when they might not have a slightest idea of what they are talking about.
The charity said it was a matter of concern that such celebrities offer health tips or advice on issues which they may know little about, thus offering bogus advice or “quackery,” which misleads the public.
The charity said that pop icon Madonna’s quest to “neutralize radiation” and Hollywood heartthrob Cruise’s dismissals of psychiatry hold no ground in science, so one should not follow such advice blindly.
The charity that compiled The Celebrities and Science Review 2008 said they are concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products, while misrepresenting the science involved.
While compiling the review, scientists and doctors evaluated the advice offered by celebrities over the past year and found that most celebrities and politicians offered bogus advices.
Scientists particularly criticized food guru Delia Smith and self-styled domestic goddess Nigella Lawson. Some other celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss, who espouse “detox” regimes, and Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, who believe (mistakenly) that the pill can cause cancer
define, also attracted criticism.
Smith’s understanding of obesity that it is caused by sugar addiction is under scrutiny. In March, the celebrity cookery writer and broadcaster told The Times: “That’s what causes obesity. It’s addiction. You need to have six weeks without sugar or sweetener . . . After six weeks, everything will taste sweet . . . because you will have got your palate back to what nature created. We could cure the nation if we cut down sugar addiction.”
Contradicting this, Lisa Miles, of the British Nutrition Foundation, says: “Delia, you’ll never get rid of sugar from the diet, nor would you want to, as you consume sugars naturally in foods such as fruit and milk, which provide us with important nutrients . . . the causes of obesity are much more complex.”
Among politicians, the U.S. President-elect Barack Obama often suggests that the MMR vaccination is a potential cause of autism, contrary to the scientific evidences that overwhelmingly weighs on the MMR vaccination.
The Sense About Science initiative is another step to encourage celebrities to avoid making claims until they have checked the facts. The Charity says though there has been “considerable improvement” in the way British celebrities approach medicine, the files are still too full of pseudo-scientific claims.
“We don’t expect people to know everything about science; the problem comes when they don’t consider checking it or asking questions,” the charity said.
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