Supersize Me - How Fast Food Destroys our Health

Morgan Spurlock's Documentary Shows the Hidden Danger in a Big Mac

Oct 14, 2009

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock took a thirty day challenge to eat nothing but McDonalds food; he learned how America's dietary habits were heading into the danger zone, too.

Morgan Spurlock documented thirty days between February and March of 2003, when he ate nothing but McDonalds fast food. During those thirty days, he gained almost 25 pounds, which took him 14 months to lose. His cholesterol shot up, he suffered heart palpitations and preliminary liver damage. And he suffered addictive behaviors, self-destructive behaviors, lethargy and a lost of sexual energy.

Spurlock realized that not only was his own health being sacrificed, but so was America's, especially the health of her children. The rules were simple: for thirty days, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at McDonalds. If anyone offered to Super-Size that order, he would accept and eat the Super-Size (which happened nine times). Starting with 11% body fat, Spurlock is told that he is in exceptional physical shape. During his challenge, he gained nearly a pound per day.

McDonalds Corporation, Super-Size Orders and and an Obese Nation

While Spurlock's journey is funny as well as scary, it is also supported by having on board specialists and health professionals who are concerned that Spurlock's thirty days may ultimately cause permanent damage to his health. His girl friend, a vegan chef, who has fed him lots of organic matter, healthy low-fat meals, and spent time exercising with him, has to watch with horror as his weight increases and his energy hits the ground floor.

Filmed are the wide derrieres and flabby abdomens of many McD customers. What has happened to America? With diabetes on the rise, this film is sobering indeed. Spurlock is a New Yorker and is used to walking miles every day; he passes three McDonalds establishments on his way to work. In fact, there are 4 McDonalds per square mile, which is a lot of Big Macs in a very small area (83!). Adapting to the low fiber high fat diet is taxing on the body. When Spurlock spews out his car window, it is powerful stuff and may give pause to the most ardent of Big Mac fans.

Spurlock's Documentary: Super-Sized Entertainment and Regular-Sized Facts

One of the criticisms that Super-Size Me receives is that Spurlock changed his exercise habits (he down-sized his usual busy lifestyle to more closely match that of the average American) and ate a larger quantity of food than he would have normally. This is a justified criticism, but the premise was to mimic what the average American would consume, not what was normal for Spurlock himself. And he turned himself from a fit 185 lbs. to a flabby 210 lbs. in very short order.

His cholesterol went from a respectable 165 clear up to 230 within just 30 day - a startling increase. In effect, Morgan Spurlock allowed himself to become a living human experiment to graphically (lots of graphs included, too) demonstrate how the health of our children and our nation is being compromised by becoming a fast-food nation. Most school food programs have been privatized, allowing children to make exceptionally unhealthy choices. Kids are seen choosing french fries and candy bars for lunch, or a plate of cookies and a soda. School staff supports the plan, stating it is the children's choice. A few months after this film was released, McDonalds quit offering Super-Size options, although they claimed it had nothing to do with the film. Worth watching for the motivation towards a healthier diet and to understand the wreckage wreaked by a super-sized unhealthy diet.

The copyright of the article Supersize Me - How Fast Food Destroys our Health in Documentary Films is owned by Barbara DeGrande. Permission to republish Supersize Me - How Fast Food Destroys our Health in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.