Super Size Me (2004)

[Neville]

Very interesting documentary. Morgan Spurlock stars and directs this film in which he decides to prove the audience how unhealthy fast food can be by eating three times a day in McDonald's for a whole month.

Yes, the premise is as stupid as it sounds, but although we all know right from the start how stupid the idea is, the results are quite more extreme than we expected.

Spurlock uses a Michael Moore approach, but only in terms of style. He is quite likeable and never harasses or abuses the people he interacts with. The facts that he presents intercut with his own diary look also very reliable.

Maybe he is wrong in putting too much emphasis on the role of the fast food restaurants in the people's health problems (take myself as an example: I'm currently on a diet to lose weight and I almost never eat fast food), but that fast food can be dangeorus and that their owners do as much as they can to hide it is quite a fact.

I'll recommend this film to anybody interested in documentals. Is wildly entertainning, well done and gives a lot of food for thought (no pun intended).
Sure that you'll have to get much more contrasted information if you want to get a deeper view into the topic, but this film is a must see.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I agree Neville, this has turned out to be one of my favorite documenatries this year.  It's entertaining, witty and smart.  I had the chance to see it at a theater while vacationing in Atlanta but unfortunatly passed it up.  Recently rented it on video and was pleasently surprised.

[nobody]

I hear nothing but praise for this film, but I have no interest in seeing it whatsoever. When I watch a documentary, I hope to learn something... but the message of this doc, that fast food is bad, is so far beyond common sense that it would just be a waste of my time to watch it.

[Brother Ragnarok]

But it's just HOW bad it is that makes the difference.  Spurlock gets a checkup at the beginning pronouncing him in perfect health.  The doctors all concur that the worst that could happen is his triglycerides would go up, he'd gain some weight, and perhaps experience some dehydration from all the sodium or somesuch.
By halfway through the experiment, HIS LIVER IS SHUTTING DOWN!  The doctors are all horrified.  Being a raging alcoholic actually does less damage to your liver than a heavy fast-foot diet.

[nobody]

That's no surprise. I'd expect something like that to happen if you ate fast food and nothing else for an extended period of time.

But that also brings up another question (yet another problem I have with this doc): How many people on this planet actually eat fast food in the same quantities. I'm willing to bet that number is very, very small.

[Chopper]

agreed i enjoyed it a lot.

[Ash]

I haven't seen it but isn't he required to take it if they suggest he Super Size his order?

[Dave Munger]

Infuriating premise. Prove something's bad for you by eating nothing except that. If I ate nothing but pineapples for that period, I'd be dead. This kind of "thinking" about food (if a certain food is healthy, you should be able to live off of it exclusvly without SEVERERE ramifications) is why  rickets is coming back. McDs has a very, very solid case against him, but a suit would be even more bad PR for them.

[Chopper]

Ash, yes that's one of the ground rules that he sets. check out some of the extras on the dvd. there's a horrifying experiment he does with some micky d french fries.

[Scott H.]

But the deal with McDonalds is their claim that they serve food healthy enough to eat for meals. And, if their food is healthy enough to eat as a meal as they claim, then surely it MUST be healthy enough to eat it non stop. What the problem with McDonalds is business ethics. They serve food that is unhealthy, but they make so much money off of it, why would they want to tell anyone to stop eating their food? It's the same situation that cigarette companies, though not to the same extent, put themselves in by not confirming that their product is unhealthy. They let people do this to themselves and stand off to the side rolling in money.

Scott H.
the other Scott

[Mr_Vindictive]

The movie really hit something with me.  I work Technical Support for an ISP and am constantly eating fast food for lunch, and lots of coffee.  

After I saw the film, I stopped eating fast food.  Now I'll bring a sandwich to work and eat that instead of a Whopper.  I have actually noticed that I haven't been as tired since I've done away with the fast food and generally have more energy.  I know it sounds stupid, but eventhough I knew that fast food is extremely unhealthy, I still ate it anyway.  I just needed a kick in the balls, which is what this movie provides, to get motivated and do away with fast food.

I'm not sure that I agree with Dave's post about eating pineapples every day for a month and having similar effects.  I'm sure it would adversly affect you, but not in the way that fast food would.

The grease and perservatives are much more dangerous than a fruit.

[nobody]

Scott H.: "They let people do this to themselves and stand off to the side rolling in money."

When are people going to start taking responsibility for themselves? The company isn't FORCE FEEDING you their product. You don't HAVE to eat it. If you don't agree with their business ethics for any reason, stop supporting their business with your money. It's as simple as that.

[Dave Munger]

My point is not that fruit is bad for you, it's that restricting your diet to just a few things is bad for you. It wouldn't have the same effect, it would KILL you (for the stunt this piece of s**t was pulling, some wholesome foods would have WORSE effects on him). Missing nutrients you need is way worse than getting them along with preservatives. I don't think McDs is good for you, but intentionally malnourishing yourself by not taking in what you need to live is not a valid way to prove it's bad for you, it's like eating something unwholesome and bleeding yourself, then attributing your problems to the food. If that jackass had gotten scurvy, he'd have blamed The Heartless Corporate entity for not putting rosehips and slices of lime on the damn burgers.

[blkrider]

Yeah...the guy gets health problems, but he also eats way, way more fast food over a short period of time than the typical McDonalds customer  would ever eat.  

Me, I eat fast food maybe three or four times a week.  Definitely not good, but probably about average.  This guy ate around six or seven times the amount of fast food I eat within a month.  He develops health problems, but keep in mind he is eating a good four to seven times more fast food than anyone else will ever eat.    

It's interesting from a "Let's see what will happen" standpoint and I will probably eventually see it with that in mind but I don't think it will carry much weight as an indictment of the fast food industry.  Most people eat it every so often and maybe have some health problems as a result, but it's doubtful their experience will be anything like the guy who made this movie.   There was a website a while back that offered a guy and a girl money if they could gain 30 pounds in 30 days in a semi-controlled environment.  This is basically the same thing.

[Susan]

There's crap in that food we don't even know about. Didn't they lie outright and tell india it was vegitable oil when they knew it was cooked in animal fat? I still eat fast food, but i know it's bad for me as well. Shows like this might educate people to not eat it AS MUCH.  Or make healthier choices once in awhile. Because i know alot of people who's entire diet consists of nothing but fast food. They are unhealthy and overweight. I remember once i stopped eating fast food for a month and i lost 10 freaking pounds that i didn't even know I had put on because of it...i thought it was my body's normal weight...lol

they should make a documentary about this.
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