Dr. Mehmet Oz takes some time away from filming season three of “The Dr. Oz Show” to answer questions for us.
What do you think is the biggest health crisis facing young professionals in America?
There’s no question that there’s a massive problem in America with loneliness. And I know that sounds like a weird first step. I could have picked obesity, which is a huge problem among the young but less so than it is as you get older. And I could have picked stress, but I think the main reason stress is such an issue for so many young professionals is because of loneliness that so many feel. And I think social networks have attempted to bring back the connections, but I don’t think [they’ve] really addressed it like [they need] to. What helps us make sense of suffering and discomfort is the people in our lives. They define our lives. And so if you’re a young professional in America and you’re having difficult connecting, then you have less of a social network that supports you as these crises points hit us. Loneliness is across the globe a big issue. And I think, especially for the young generation, they’re going to have to find those tools [to fight it]. It’s not going to come through social networks by itself. It’s going to take more than that.
Do people ever come up to you on the street and start asking you questions they’d normally reserve for their own doctor? How do you respond to that?
Oh, it happens all the time. And I never mind it. It takes me a minute, two minutes to give you some information that might give you confidence to do what you already thought you should do, or maybe change your mind about what you were going to do. And to me that’s just a small thing to offer you and I’d much rather do that than take a picture of sign an autograph.
