Trigger

Someone who cares so little about what they put into their own body I'm sure couldn't care less what I think about them.

I didn't say disgust, but I really don't have much respect for people who don't respect themselves. Eating at McDonalds represents more than just being lazy and unhealthy. I can cook a healthy and delicious meal at home in less than 5 minutes - about the time it would take to get processed through the drive-thru and much less time than it would take for someone to drive from their house to the nearest one and back. This is a deliberate choice people make and it says something about them. Much like the way some people choose to listen to pop music.

Groucho

It's all relative. I would venture that the typical McDonald's meal is more healthy/sanitary/clean/whatever than the finest gourmet meal 100 years ago.

Brack

I doubt you even have a college degree based on that statement.

Brack

Never been to The Golden Corral? You're in for a treat.

Numerous people and this thread will say that his diet isn't too far off from that of many people in the US. I live in one of the fattest states, I see it every day. Are you not familiar with the rise of obesity that is occurring in our country?

It's all about you, isn't it?

fumanstan

Wow, that seemed a little hostile. Were you a fat kid or something?

Brack

Hostile?

Huh. I guess replying to misinformed people is hostile.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Charges that Super Size Me is not sufficiently nuanced are ridiculous. People looking for more serious critiques of fast food should read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation or Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Super Size Me was targeted at capturing the attention of the average fast food consumer. Accordingly, it was hyperbolic, silly, and juvenile at times, but so what? If the message is too simplistic for you seek out the better sourced and better reasoned books cited above. Sure eating nothing but McDonalds for 30 days is a stunt, but it's a clever stunt that reached an audience far larger than Schlosser or Pollan ever could.

fumanstan

No, the smart ass "It's all about you" remark is what I was referring as hostile.

I really don't see any misinformation from Giantrobo either. Yes, there's tons of people that eat pretty shitty. But they also don't go from one extreme (where he was practically vegetarian or vegan) to eating McDonalds 3 times a day for a month. And like Robo said, I also don't think millions of people eat like that until they throw up. Doing so has to take a bigger toll on your body then someone who's been used to eating more fast food regularly then Morgan. That's all. Not sure how you feel that isn't true.

Obviously the purpose of the stunt was to show the extremities of the situation to garner attention, and it did a fine job doing that.

Brack

wow, you really don't get sarcasm.

of course people don't go from eating well and being fit to suddenly not eating well and not exercising. that's like saying that water is wet. what is the point of pointing out something so obvious about the movie? does it invalidate anything said in the movie? not at all.

that's fine if you don't believe people overeat to the point of getting sick. that's a nice fantasy world that I wish I could live in, but I cannot.

fumanstan

I guess sarcasm doesn't translate well in text, especially when it's veiled in a smart ass remark.

Anyway, it's because people seem to be quick to treat Spurlock's stunt like a scientific experiment. Like a few others here have already said, it's just a matter of saying hey, eating fast food doesn't automatically mean you're living an unhealthy life style and you're going to die an early death. You're the one that said "I think most people know fast food is terrible for you, but capturing the effects it has on people, MILLIONS of people who eat like that every day, was interesting." I'm just disagreeing with that because I don't think it captures what millions of people are doing, since what Spurlock different isn't normal. Just like eating to the point of barfing isn't, despite you apparently knowing people like that.

I never said I didn't believe people overeat to the point of getting sick.

Brack

A smart ass remark as seen as "hostile?" That makes no sense.

And yeah, I'm guessing millions of people eat 5000 calories a day, easy. a third of our country is obese. so please, until you actually do some research, I suggest you stop talking, because you don't know what you're talking about. the only difference between what Spurlock did was be relatively healthy before eating like that, which of course is going to put on the pounds and what not quickly. the MILLIONS that do eat that terribly have slowly built that up over time. it doesn't make it any more healthy.

I never said millions of people eat to the point of barfing (it happens more than you admit or even know), you're insinuating and twisting my words to support your argument, whatever that might be other than simply arguing with me.

Brack

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm

here's somewhere to get started.

Giantrobo

I said:

You said:

You added the "they may not puke" part so I'll give you that but you sure seemed to want say they did.

Brack

LOL. I'm willing to bet my life that some of those people did. I don't ride in cars with obese people. just something I don't do.

fumanstan

I never assumed that you said millions of people eat until they barf. It sounds more like you're misreading my words. I'm not twisting anything or attacking you, so I don't get why you're being so rude. I'm not even trying to really argue anything, other then my opinion that I don't think Spurlock's example represents the typical fat guy. That's all! Sheesh!

As far as the measurement for obesity, I think most people actually agree that it's a bit off. I remember a thread in Other about it and there's plenty of people who agreed that they would technically be labeled obese but be fit as a fiddle. Not saying there isn't millions of obese people out there, but really, not all of that can be solely attributed to fast food, and just as well there are people that eat fast food but also keep themselves in ok shape.

Brack

if you're merely looking at body mass index (BMI), sure, some football players and weightlifters are going to be considered obese, but that's such a small percentage of the population that it in no way affects the studies that have been conducted.

FlickMan

So the moral is only do something stupid and healthy when offered?

Dumbed down, inane documentary

Jackskeleton

I think the point there is that you're being pushed and asked to consume more and more. It may stretch their dollar figures, but it'll also stretch your waistline.

Take a look at the sizes of fries in the states compared to in Europe. The large in Europe is the size of a medium in the states. Portion sizes are what is killing America. We eat and eat and eat large portions of unhealthy material. The film may have shown an extreme, but it's not an extreme that is that far off the mark. It's a very unhealthy country that we live in based on the lack of physical activity, large portions on unhealthy choices of food and well, all the factors in between. It's not doing us any good and the film was simply pointing out that not caring what you put in your mouth or making the "Easy" choice can often leave you making the wrong one.

Giles

the MAIN difference between the States versus Europe is that a large population of people live in metropolis' that rely on public transportation and walking - the US is so sprawled out and dependent on cars, that so few people actually walk.

Neil M.

Large portions and lack of exercise are the true reasons for our obesity problem, not fast food. I actually have lost weight eating fast food three times daily but I didn't eat 1500 calories in a sitting like so many people do. We spend a majority of our time indoors, most likely sitting in front of a tv or at a computer. I truly believe that is the main reason why we have a problem. I've seen it in myself and others. It's really easy to blame McDonald's but they're only providing what people want. If people chose to eat healthy, fast food restaurants would have to change their menu or risk going out of business.

Unless they have a medical problem, people can only blame themselves for their obesity. I don't see the problem going away anytime soon. Kids are becoming more and more inactive as we keep inventing more and more electronic toys for them. It's easier for a parent to buy a kid a playstation 3 than to take them to the park a few times a week.

It's funny. Everytime I see or hear about Super Size Me, I always visualize an overweight person finishing the movie and saying, "Yeah, it's McDonald's fault." Then he puts in the next dvd and sits on his couch with a bag of chips in hand.

Brack

Are you trying to say that fat people are stupid? Because really, if you think that was the point of Super Size Me, then that's what you're saying.

arbogast777

I thought you guys would love to see this pic. This is a picture I took a few weeks ago of the bottom of a menu at a restaurant in Hong Kong...

Giles

'World's Smallest Sundae' and 'American portions' don't equate

I wonder what 'sophisticated carry out' means?

iconoclasm

according to their nutrition fact sheet they no longer offer the super size. It wouldnt surprise me if specific stores had promotions for special sizes using different names other than "super fries", "super drink" etc.

as for the scene of him vomiting, i *think* the point was that the people who order the super size, they are gorging them self by ordering the super size. And someone who is used to eating normal sizes would be overwhelmed and throw up all of it IF they tried eating a super size. That was day 1 or day 2 iirc and he wasnt accustomed to it.

I think the point of the film, or one of the points, is that Mcdonalds targets children, with the cartoons, the clown, the jungle gym etc. They hook kids early and get them started on bad habits and addicted to fast food.

If a smoker starts smoking at a young age, and then watches a film about Phillip Morris and how they buy off politicians to keep marketing cigarettes to younger generations(which is exactly what they do), the smoker would probably light up and say "damn tobacco companies!" Food addicts and drug addicts arent that different. The caffeine in the coke, the additives in the processed foods, those are all addictive.

The only difference that I can think of is second hand smoke, and that hurts people around them. I dont think being fat hurts people around them unless someone is so fat that they dont see someone sitting on a seat, and then they sit on them and smoosh them.

that is certainly part of it. People dont get any exercise if they drive everywhere. I guess that is bound to change somewhat as the price of gas shoots up to $5-$10/gallon. Gas prices are insanely expensive(about double what we pay) in europe and asia.

Thats just it, the super size was only a little bit more than the large size(like 20 cents) according to the film. Super size is no longer offered, so I dont have any way of verifying that.

Did you even watch the movie? It takes a look at the shit food that is sold in schools, and the different ways that mcdonalds targets children

I think the only reason that he only ate the super size when offered is that he would not survive a few days if he only ate the super sizes. That, and he kept track of which stores offered the super size, the fattest state, texas, offered him super size 5 times of the 10 times he was offered super size.

The moral is that people actually eat the super sizes, and doing so is ridulously unhealthy. The fact that the super size is even offered is so people have the option to overeat for only a few cents more, then they make a habit of it.

You are talking about people who are overweight but they are likely underfat from all of the exercise. That isnt unhealthy.

It would be unhealthy for someone to be underweight but overfat. At one point in the film, he went in for the weekly weigh in, and they said, 'thats weird you actually lost a pound in the past week." then they said that muscle weighs more than fat so he was probably just losing muscle while he was gaining fat.

mndtrp

I'm sure that's exactly what he's saying.

Because really, if that's what you think the point of his post was, then you should probably try using a little comprehension when reading.