Oprah Winfrey has talked about weight loss -- hers and everyone else's -- for years. Her protégé Dr. Phil has found a way to make money from it.
Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, whose syndicated talk show, ''Dr. Phil,'' is second only to Ms. Winfrey's in popularity, began his second season last month with an ambitious multimedia assault on obesity. Following the example of Ms. Winfrey's continuing series of programs, like her popular book club, he has invited 13 overweight participants to spend a year sweating off pounds and regaining self-confidence under his tough-love tutelage, with many more viewers charting their own progress on the Dr. Phil Web site, www.drphil.com. An accompanying book, ''The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom,'' has been at the top of the best-seller lists, and he is promoting his system in a series on weight loss on NBC's ''Today'' program.
But another part of his campaign has taken him far from Ms. Winfrey's playbook and led to some criticism. Under a licensing deal with CSA Nutraceuticals, a start-up in Irving, Tex., Dr. McGraw is lending his name and image to a line of nutritional supplements, including vitamin packets, power bars and meal-replacement drinks that began quietly appearing in stores like Wal-Mart, Walgreen and Target during the summer under the brand name Shape Up.
Of course, celebrity licensing and endorsement deals have long been a mainstay of consumer marketing, but few talk-show hosts have so closely associated the products they endorse with the content of their television programs. Dr. McGraw's licensing deal with Shape Up crosses another barrier, one that has been regarded as sacred: Unlike books or videos, the products can directly affect viewers' health. And because Dr. McGraw carries the honorific ''doctor'' -- though he is a clinical psychologist and not a physician -- his critics say that consumers are more likely to trust his recommendations.
The licensing question is amplified because Dr. McGraw's success is built to a large degree on his personal appeal and credibility, far more so than most daytime talk-show hosts (viewers might hesitate before buying a health product endorsed by Jerry Springer, for example). The ''Dr. Phil'' persona -- Dr. McGraw's reputation for straight talk combined with his folksy Southern expressions (''One of us is a fool!'') -- may have him parodied on the David Letterman show, but it has helped build a large audience of fans who in some cases could feel exploited by the nutritional-supplement deal.
She was so disappointed by his decision to endorse the supplements that she will not buy his book. ''It was a big letdown,'' Ms. Jensen said.
Sam Hill, the president of the Helios Consulting Group, another consumer products consulting firm, said Dr. McCraw's audience feels ''a very personal attachment'' to him that is easily threatened.
In an interview, Dr. McGraw said he did not consider the endorsement deal a commercial venture, adding that his proceeds would go to a charitable foundation but also that he would not allow public reaction to dictate his decisions.
Dr. McGraw said his decision to link up with CSA was part of a personal campaign to help Americans lose weight. The campaign has already achieved some financial success. Ratings for his show are up 23 percent from last year. His weight-loss book has been on the New York Times best-seller list for advice books for five weeks, and even critics of his approach concede that he stresses common sense and good habits.
Dr. McGraw said he first had the idea to create a line of nutritional supplements in 1999 and worked actively with the scientists at CSA before 2002, when his talk show began national television broadcasts. He had counseled obese patients for much of the early part of his career as a psychologist and several members of his family are obese -- including his father and mother-in-law, both of whom died from obesity-related complications, he said.
At 6'4'' and 240 pounds, Dr. McGraw does not view himself as the epitome of fitness and health, but says he is at an appropriate weight for his age, 53, and height. He exercises every day on an elliptical trainer, lifts weights and plays tennis. And if he occasionally misses a meal, he eats a Shape Up meal-replacement bar.
His licensing deal with CSA Nutraceuticals calls for a percentage of the products' annual sales to be given to the Dr. Phil Foundation, a charity in Dallas that addresses epidemics like childhood obesity. While he would not disclose the specifics on that share, he expects the foundation to earn at least $1 million from the products in the first year. He added that he pays the foundation's administration and staffing costs out of his own pocket.
But the deal also has some novel restrictions. Although the cover of his weight-loss book and the package design of the Shape Up products have a striking resemblance -- both carry a full-length image of Dr. McGraw flashing a toothy grin and a red-and-white color scheme -- neither product is explicitly used to promote the other. There is no mention of the products in the book, nor does he mention the Shape Up line on his program or his Web site. He will not appear in radio, print or television commercials to promote the products, and his contract prohibits CSA from buying commercial space for Shape Up products before, during or after the Dr. Phil Show.
Still, his strategy is at considerable odds with that of his friend and mentor, Ms. Winfrey. Throughout her 18-year career as a daytime talk-show host, with the enormous influence she wields in the marketplace, she has turned down numerous requests to license consumer products. The Oprah Book Club made unknown writers into very rich celebrity authors. Passing mentions of personal favorite products, like the Philosophy cosmetics line, turn them into household names. If you put her on ice skates, marketers speculate, she could probably sell a million hockey sticks.
That is a risk that Dr. McGraw is apparently willing to take. Like Ms. Winfrey, he said that he has very ''stringent control'' of his deal and that he was not surprised to hear criticism of the products.
He said he had talked with Ms. Winfrey, whose company had a stake in the Dr. Phil show about his decision to back the Shape Up line, adding that their conversations were private and he would not disclose any details.
While Ms. Winfrey may or may not agree with his decision, she has evidently decided to stay out of his way.
''I feel that a person should own their own name and make their own choices,'' Ms. Winfrey said in a statement.
Retailers said it was too early to tell if the supplement products and power bars were selling, although they noted that their shelf space were being been squeezed to accommodate the many new brands of supplements seeking shares of the $1.6 billion market-- trying to take business from established competitors like Slim-Fast, Atkins and Ensure.
According to some marketing experts, if consumers accept Dr. McGraw as a marketer, his potential as a pitchman will be great. His talk show, they contend, has already suggested the staying power of a Phil Donahue or even Ms. Winfrey.