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Fast food has long defined America’s culture and junk food conglomerates like McDonalds’, Pizza Hut, and KFC have become cultural icons. Until recently, nobody thought twice about grabbing a hamburger and double soda for lunch but obesity replaced tobacco as the number one killer in America and all hell broke loose. America reacted in the way it knows best to voice a protest. They dragged the multinational junk food companies to court demanding punitive damages for ruining their health. Although their actions were wrong, their oversized clogged heart was in the right place. The fast food companies insist that although their food is not healthy, it cannot kill a person and is not dangerous as it is made out to be. Or is it? Super Size Me answers those questions through a self-tested experiment.
Super Size Me is an amazing documentary centered on director Morgan Spurlock’s attempt to eat nothing but McDonalds’ food for a month. According to physician reports’, he is perfect for his age and build prior to the ridiculous diet. He begins binging on the cheeseburgers, McGridles, hash browns, French fries, and of course the accompanying Coke as he tours all over America. He super sizes his meals only when asked to, which incidentally he is one-third of the time. Slowly but surely, the fast food begins to show its effect as Morgan puts on 13 pounds after just ten days. He walks as much as an average American so the exercise is minimal. He throws up after his first super size meal, which takes him more than 30 minutes to eat. At the end of the month, after being strictly warned to give up his diet by his doctor, he is 22 pounds overweight; his cholesterol level has doubled so has his chances of a heart ailment. His liver has deteriorated to abysmal levels. He suffers from extreme mood swings and depression when kept away from fast food, suggesting that it might be addictive. His body muscle has turned to flabby fat and has a noticeable paunch. Conclusion: Fast food acts faster than you think and is dangerous in many more ways than you think.
He intersperses his documentary with interviews with children, people on the street, academicians, and dieticians. The most disturbing sight was the meals offered in public schools and subtle tactics employed by fast food joints to attract the most gullible demographic – children. Once they are hooked, they keep coming back for more until they require additional adjectives to describe their obesity problems. Marketing tactics like constructing playpens, sponsoring school events, and creating an advertising icon lures the kids. Ronald McDonald, for example is more recognizable than George Washington, Jesus Christ or George Bush. One funny incident stood out when a kid recognized Jesus Christ as George Bush…Bush can thank his political strategists for that association.
Although I deride fast food and wish for a more healthy diet, several factors can lure me away too – time, money, gastronomical cravings, or plain laziness. It is a difficult task, keeping you away from the gimmicks.
The fad to steer away from capitalistic consumer society has hit a new high (low?) when Freegans attempt to redefine recycling [via Boing Boing]. I hope we don’t have to go to that extent.
by Patrix | on Sunday, October 3rd, 2004 at 11:05 pm | 
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October 4th, 2004 at 3:29 am reply
With the big golden arches fairly new in India, I hope we can learn from the lessons of the American populace that has borne with this for decades. Our native food cultures are pretty strong but the average upper middle class urban kid is rapidly getting addicted to fast food too.
October 4th, 2004 at 8:46 am reply
You forgot to mention, his girlfriend threatened dire consequences if he kept at this diet!
October 4th, 2004 at 10:21 am reply
I am amazed at how easy it is to sue these conglomerates in the US for something that is totally our own responsibility. They advertise and we get sucked into super sizing our meals. Hello!?! Is our health our responsibility or theirs? I doubt if McD ever advertised their food as “Not only yummy but helps you lose weight too!”
Parents need to teach their kids, maybe by example that eating healthy is in their own hands. We keep knives at home, we keep lighters at home, we have gas burners at home - don’t we teach our kids the perils of improper use? Or should we start blaming the manufacturers for making sharp knives cause a kid cut himself or somebody else up? Why blame McD for not doing your own job? I enjoy french fries immensely but hey, I don’t eat them everyday. I love milkshakes at Burger King but I don’t have that everyday.
I don’t have any sympathy for folks who are obese or have obese kids and are still found at McD’s pigging out on hamburgers and french fries and Coke and then raising a hue and cry about how McD or some other fast food place is ruining the health of America!
P.S. I am not saying that McD’s should not try to change recipes to make food less unhealthy but don’t blame it for all your obesity problems.
October 4th, 2004 at 12:04 pm reply
I agree with Nami completely. Its easier for people to blame others than to look within themselves and change (This goes for the tobacco industry too). The fast food chains exist and thrive precisely because they are supplying a need that exists among people. They function just like any other industry, meeting need with supply. Snuffing out this need would effectively shut down the industry.
People need to be responsibly and actively involved in taking care of their own health.
By the way, the article on fregans was interesting to say the least. In terms of saving money and recycling, it sounds like a good idea, but the health aspect sounds suspect.
October 4th, 2004 at 12:37 pm reply
Kiran - The local udipi has to be thanked for not dishing out fat-enriched food. Also McD is considered an upscale joint in India and remains off limits to the majority of the population, but once they overcome that, there are gonna spread their tentacles all over I hope we are smart enough to keep away.
Ph - Yup! she being a vegan didn’t help either :) but she did help in detoxifying him after his diet.
Nami - I understand the need to restrict oneself from succumbing to such fads. But you have to understand the culture you live in. If McD has been around since you were born and you have been taken to the “happy place” everyweek to play in their sandpit, you tend to associate happiness and their unhealthy food is the last thing on your mind. In their teenage years, all the cool kids hang out at the fast food place and peer pressure is such an important factor here (or anywhere) that you can’t resist.
Of course, to step back and take a conscious look at your diet is something you can always do once you are an adult but I hope its not too late then.
Ash - It takes a while to understand the amazing talents of the American marketing and advertising industry. They can sell ice to an eskimo so fast food and tobacco is no big deal. Slowly but surely, people are moving towards more healthy food, thanks to Atkins and Dr.Phil
Freegans are taking it bit too far. Picking food from the trash surely is gonna have some health issues sometime.
October 4th, 2004 at 1:28 pm reply
Such documentaries also trigger the companies to take a relook at their menu and provide ‘healthy’ food along with the regular items.
October 4th, 2004 at 1:38 pm reply
Again .. this is probably the 3rd time I am writing a similar comment on some blog. I guess I will have to make a documentry myself .. and try and sue Dairy Queen .. bcos .. all I am gonna eat for a month is DQ Blizzards (large) and gain 50 pounds .. and screw up my health permanently. Or how about just drinking AquaFina water as food for a month .. losing some 50 pounds .. (and definitely dying in the process?) That’ll teach those bastards over at AquaFina .. their water sucks .. it doesnt have any nutritional content!!!!!
This is absurd. You are not supposed to eat MacD for every meal .. for a month!! Meals should be BALANCED.
Also .. AFAIK .. MAcDonalds has come up with their own documentry (to show how skewed this is) .. wherein theie representative goes on a similar diet .. eating McDs for a whole month .. but selecting her meals carefully .. eating salads and some burgers .. the whole lot. She actually LOST weight in the process.
October 4th, 2004 at 1:49 pm reply
Aar - It did work in case of Super Size Me, McD eliminated the Supersize option, fast food places had the nutritional chart up front, and provided options to help you cut back on non-essentials.
Anya - Of course, you shouldn’t eat it for every meal but the point was that if eating it everyday for month could almost kill him, think about those ppl who eat it even 3-4 times a week..its clogging your heart slowly until it becomes dangerous like it did for Clinton. Morgan also experienced the addictiveness of fast food..Fast food companies trying to hide the unhealthy aspect of food is like tobacco companies not putting the statutory warning on their products.
October 4th, 2004 at 2:02 pm reply
Hey Ph & Patrix, any chance I can join your film watching club ? :))
October 4th, 2004 at 2:19 pm reply
The subway “choose well” campaign is actually a good step in the direction of getting teenagers to actually think about choosing a healthy diet over the fast ‘die’ food… But still a burger once in a while doesnt hurt… Ofcourse if you go to the extremes, well nething is possible…
October 4th, 2004 at 2:23 pm reply
Spaceman - Grab some popcorn and make yourself comfortable :)
Prashant - Subway was, I think, the first chain to advertise about the need to choose your diet carefully. Of course, once a while burger is what most of us enjoy.
October 4th, 2004 at 8:02 pm reply
“Slowly but surely, people are moving towards more healthy food, thanks to Atkins…”
Er, i don’t think that’s quite true. Atkins is based on the funda that people tend to pile up on carbs. So cut down carbs. Eat the rest. Dr.Atkins hoped that even if they eat faty foods, since people will eat them in small quantities, they will put down weight. But the popularity of Atkins brought in a truckload of precisely the foods that make one fat-cookies, ice-cream…low-carb but very high fat. Atkins has, imho, in no way contributed towards healthy eating.
As for who is responsible for obesity, i think it’s both. One can’t totally blame fast-food companies for fulfilling a need of consumers. At the same time, popular health literature has penetrated society enough for people to be careful in choosing what they eat.
October 4th, 2004 at 8:17 pm reply
Passerby - hmmm..I may be wrong about the Atkins thing since I don’t know a whole lot about the diet. But my point was that healthy eating is slowly creeping into American limelight and can make a dent in fast food culture. Thanks for the tip.
October 4th, 2004 at 10:34 pm reply
Hmm..McD never claimed that they will help anyone lose weight.. but what abt Subway?? they are going on advertising just that! although they might not be having fried stuff in their subs.. but it still does look a far way off from a healthy diet.. esp one which helps *reduce* weight!
October 4th, 2004 at 11:25 pm reply
Twilight Fairy - Subway does claim that you can lose weight if you eat particular Subway sandwiches..but they compare themselves to the burger places and I guess they do win that way.