We love our celebrities in America. We love to read about their lives, follow their fashion trends, even know what exercises they follow to get those red-carpet bodies. If our adoration stopped there, we’d probably be OK. However, it’s been highlighted lately how celebrities are impacting our views about medicine and health. In some cases, this impact could be resulting in dangerous outcomes.
Dr. Anthony Youn is a plastic surgeon in Detroit. He recently shared his views in regards to how celebrities are overstepping their bounds as they attempt to be health advocates.
For years it’s been a common sight to see a celebrity endorse a product. Larry King promoted Garlique, the garlic supplement designed to help those with high cholesterol. More recently Lisa Rinna endorsed Depends as she wore them on the red carpet for charity.
Youn pointed out that other celebrities have taken their advocacy further than product promotion. For example, Michael J. Fox has done incredible things for the research of Parkinson Disease. Or as Youn asked, “who hasn’t worn a yellow Livestrong Bracelet promoted by Lance Armstrong as a way to help fund cancer studies?” (more…)
