Dr. Mehmet Oz, Md, Presents The Possible Human To Worlds Most Influential Leaders

New York, NY, February 1, 2002 – Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and associate professor of surgery at Columbia University in New York City, will present "The Possible Human," his original model for wellness, at the 2002 World Economic Forum. Dr. Oz is a leader of the health initiative of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow, a group of 100 individuals under 40 singled out by the World Economic Forum for their innovative ideas. The "Possible Human" addresses health policy in the United States in a "holistic" fashion stressing the need for public and private sector partnerships to change what Dr. Oz calls the country's "fragmented approach to health." "By mobilizing the private sector to appreciate the significance of health in their communities– both for their employees and in the community at large, we can create a bottom-up, grassroots effort that has the potential to improve the health of all Americans," Dr. Oz says. For example, the vision Dr. Oz will present is of a society in which the economy thrives when health is part of the bottom line. "Healthy people not only make fewer demands upon the health and social care systems, they are also more productive," Dr. Oz says. "In fact, 75 percent of illness costs to business is lost productivity rather than direct expenditures for health care costs." Dr. Oz says for every dollar American businesses spend on health benefits, they lose three dollars in terms of productivity. "The illnesses caused by obesity lead to the most number of lost workdays of any single ailment," Dr. Oz says. At present, over one third of the American population is obese, and American's ten top sources of calories are cited as whole milk, cola, margarine, white bread, and rolls, sugar, 2 percent milk, ground beef, wheat flour (white), and processed American cheese. But Dr. Oz believes a public-private sector partnership could help solve the obesity epidemic. Dr. Oz's presentation will discuss a joint initiative by local businesses and government in Philadelphia, the "fattest" city in the United States, to dramatically reduce the citizens' collective weight. Dr. Oz will present at the 2002 World Economic Forum on Monday, February 4 from 2:15 - 4:00 p.m. in the Conrad Suite of The Waldorf-Astoria before some of the world's most influential business, academic, political, and cultural leaders along with Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, Founder and President of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Both Dr. Oz and Dr. Ornish are Harvard-trained physicians who have been internationally recognized for their work in both traditional and alternative medicine. Dr. Oz's books, "Healing from the Heart", won the prestigious "Books for a Better America" award (1999) and "Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery" was elected as a Best Health Science Book by Doody's Review Journal (2000). His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and health care policy. He has authored over 350 original publications, book chapters, abstracts, and books and has received several patents. He is annually elected as one of the best physicians in the USA by the Castle Connolly Guide. For the past 25 years, Dr. Ornish has directed clinical research demonstrating, for the first time, that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. He is the author of five best-selling books, including New York Times' bestsellers Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, Eat More, Weigh Less, and Love & Survival. Dr. Ornish was recognized as “one of the most interesting people of 1996" by People magazine, featured in the "TIME 100" issue on alternative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as "one of the 50 most influential members of his generation."

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