Celebrity health advice: science or silliness?
Posted on Jan 5th 2007 8:13AM by Bethany SandersFiled Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
Celebrities are rich, beautiful, powerful -- so they must be knowledgeable as well, right? Not according to the UK group Sense About Science, who is working hard this year to make sure that celebrities get their science and health related facts straight before speaking.
Citing examples such as Madonna speaking about "neutralizing " radiation and Heather Mills McCartney blaming dairy products for the obesity epidemic, the group has been busy placing leaflets around celebrity hangouts. The leaflet, titled Need to Speak to a Scientist? implores celebrities to go on a fact checking mission before speaking publicly on an issue.
The public impact of celebrity endorsements is well known and hard to undo, claims the group, and they hope to prevent wide spread misconceptions by people who assume that celebrities must be in the know. So if you hear your favorite famous person advising you to "keep your lymph system clear and unclogged" or telling you that eating a seed is like ingesting the whole plant, remember that celebrities might be experts at being famous, but are not always qualified to dish out health advice.
Citing examples such as Madonna speaking about "neutralizing " radiation and Heather Mills McCartney blaming dairy products for the obesity epidemic, the group has been busy placing leaflets around celebrity hangouts. The leaflet, titled Need to Speak to a Scientist? implores celebrities to go on a fact checking mission before speaking publicly on an issue.
The public impact of celebrity endorsements is well known and hard to undo, claims the group, and they hope to prevent wide spread misconceptions by people who assume that celebrities must be in the know. So if you hear your favorite famous person advising you to "keep your lymph system clear and unclogged" or telling you that eating a seed is like ingesting the whole plant, remember that celebrities might be experts at being famous, but are not always qualified to dish out health advice.
