"Supersize Me"

RE:

And, though they may be in the minority, there is an ample number of people who easily consume 5000 plus calories a day at McDonalds and other fast food places. People who eat only that type of high fat, icky carb fare. What's interesting to me is how additive this type of food can be. I used to hate it when someone would say I'm addicted to sugar or carbs and think they needed to change their mindset but I read a study that showed that carbs that have been processed to death actually act on the centers of the brain that are tweaked with opiates. It blew my mind and made me think that the subject of obesity, which is a huge problem, is so much more complex and difficult to address. I have observed people who are morbidly obese ordering two or three times the food they should have at Mickey D's and other resturants and it's so much more than lack of self control. And with a society where a huge proportion food which is largely bereft of nutriton, at fast food joints and the supermarket, we have a section the population which is in real danger. We have 2 MacDonald's two miles from, one to the North, one to the South and another about 6 miles and they do a booming business. The easy availablity of the type of food which should be eaten moderately but isn't, is scary. But I do agree that Reality TV has nothing to do with reality!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

One article I dug up on this movie....
Again I am not defending junk food, just don't like the methods employed by the guy when making this film and I question his motives. He comes across like an idiot in the interview below and it sounds like Michael Moore, king of idiot filmmakers, is a guy he admires. Form your own opinions.....

Dishing It Out, But Not Taking It

By James K. Glassman Published 05/27/2004




When it comes to criticism, Morgan Spurlock, director of "Super Size Me," can dish it out, but he sure can't take it. Ask him a tough question, and he turns to blubber. Suddenly, journalists are beginning to catch on to the fact that his documentary, which has received fawning reviews, is actually a repulsive and dishonest piece of puerile entertainment -- vomit and rectal exams tarted up with sociology and politics. On Monday, Maria Bartiromo nailed him on CNBC. He was reduced to a fool. It was beautiful to watch. Spurlock has refused consistently to confront his critics, including me. But now, he is finding that smart reporters are wising up to him, rather than tossing the softballs he was used to getting from Katie Couric and the like.
Just to remind…. In "Super Size Me," Spurlock consumes more than 5,000 calories a day at McDonald's -- twice the level necessary to maintain his weight -- for 30 days straight. He eats the daily equivalent of NINE Big Macs every day. That's three at breakfast, three at lunch and three at dinner. Or 18 hamburgers. And he doesn't exercise. The result: He gains 24 pounds and feels miserable. Duh! He could have eaten 5,000 calories at the best health-food restaurant in New York and suffered the same consequences. He sends a terrible message to America: Obesity is not your responsibility. It's the fault of greedy corporations. Don't forget that Spurlock's old TV show, "I Bet You Will," paid contestants money to performing disgusting culinary acts like eating live cockroaches. Here, it's Spurlock who gets paid. Spurlock believes that moviegoers are dumb enough to think that it's McDonald's that made him fat -- rather than the amount of food he consumed and his slothful habits.
Take a look at these excerpts from Bartiromo's interview and see what happens when someone challenges Spurlock:
CNBC: Special Report With Maria BartiromoMonday, May 24, 2004
MARIA BARTIROMO, host: Welcome back to SPECIAL REPORT. When you have a dish as big and as juicy as a Big Mac and you eat it every day, you're going to gain weight. And when you go after a target that's as big and juicy as McDonald's, you're going to attract publicity. My next guest did both very well. After eating nothing but McDonald's for a whole month, writer and director Morgan Spurlock ended up with an extra 24 pounds and an award-winning documentary. I sat down with Spurlock….
MORGAN SPURLOCK: Well, I mean, the thing is--is I never really--the--the--you know, the film is not about McDonald's. McDonald's in the film is iconic of a problem. McDonald's is there because they are the one that is the largest, the one whose marketing practices are most insidious, the one who, you know, continues to branch out in more countries than anywhere else in the world. You know, so I picked them as--as a symbol of--of our lifestyle and a symbol of what's happening. So...
BARTIROMO: Some skeptics have done the math.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Sure.
BARTIROMO: And they say there's no way that you can conclude eating three full meals a day...
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: ...at McDonald's would get you anywhere close to 5,000 calories a day. Were you snacking? Were you eating something else? Mr. SPURLOCK: Of course I--of course. Do you have a snack in the afternoon? We all get snacks in the afternoon. You have lunch and then later in the afternoon you're like, 'Wow, you know what? I'm a little tired. I'm going to get a cup of coffee. I'm going to get an apple pie. You know, I'm going to go get--I'm going to get a muffin.' You know, we all go get coffee in the afternoon or some--something to tide us over until dinner so, you know, it's not unrealistic. And the fact is--and I love the other thing they say. They say, 'Nobody eats like this. Nobody'...
BARTIROMO: But that is--that is a fair complaint. Nobody does eat like that.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Well, isn't--you--but here's--you don't eat three meals a day--but I have...
BARTIROMO: And certainly you don't eat three McDonald's meal a day and then have apple pie.
Mr. SPURLOCK: But I have friends. I have friends who get up in the morning and they'll go to McDonald's and they'll get an Egg McMuffin and a hash brown and a coffee and a juice. And for lunch, they go get Wendy's and they'll get--you know, they'll get burgers and fries, and then they'll go home and for dinner, they order Domino's. This is a consistent lifestyle in America. So as unrealistic as the argument is--they say it's so unrealistic--people eat like this. People like to eat like this in America every day, and it's so rooted in our lifestyle of wanting things on the go, of wanting it quickly. And the film is very representative of what will happen to you over a 20-, 30-, 40-year period of time. What happened to me in this small window where I started to develop--you know, I started to develop liver problems, you know, heart disease, you know, all these things that I was on a path to getting will happen to you over--over a 20-, 30-, 40-year time….
BARTIROMO: What about this woman--she's a competitor, actually, of yours--Soso Wiley.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: OK. She's also doing a film. She ate McDonald's just the way you did.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Sure. Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Only McDonald's.
Mr. SPURLOCK: How great is that?
BARTIROMO: And sh--she lost 10 pounds.
Mr. SPURLOCK: How great is that, that this film has so inspired someone that they wanted to go out--and I think there's like three or four other people that are going out and doing their own McDonald's diets, you know, to do this.
BARTIROMO: OK, but that's her point.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: She only ate McDonald's.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Sh--the documentary's coming out in a couple months.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Let's--OK. Let's--let's talk...
BARTIROMO: She lost 10 pounds.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Here's--here's--let's...
BARTIROMO: Does that discount your idea?
Mr. SPURLOCK: Let's--where--here, let's read her diary, what she says in her diary. And she writes online where she says, 'I'm eating less and I'm exercising.' What are the two things no American does? Americans don't eat less and we don't exercise. You know, these--of course you're going to lose weight if you eat less and exercise. That--those go hand in hand. Welcome to America, where that doesn't happen. You also have to question, you know, Ms. Wiley's motives. You know, she works for a Washington, DC, based lobby group called the Competitive Enterprise Institute that lobbies on behalf of the food industry, the petroleum industry, the cigarette companies. So, you know, I came into this to--to save a population. She came into this to save a corporation. There's completely different motives behind our--behind the agenda.
BARTIROMO: When did you first tell McDonald's this was coming out? Mr. SPURLOCK: I--I called them about midway through my diet to try and set up an interview. And then I called a second time and a third time and then I just tried to call--get anybody. I'll speak to anyone, any spokesperson for McDonald's. And all they kept saying was, 'Yeah, well, maybe we can set up an interview,' 'Maybe if you called back next week,' 'Well, if you're in Chicago, perhaps we could do it,' 'We really don't have an answer for you now. Maybe we could do it.' You know, and so then I sent them an e-mail, you know, and said, 'Listen, I want to'--you know, they said, 'Send us an e-mail outlining what you want to do,' and now they've released this e-mail like it's some kind of a smoking gun. It's--it's--it's absolutely fantastic.
BARTIROMO: Let--let's talk about your e-mail. We have a part of it here.
Mr. SPURLOCK: Sure.
BARTIROMO: 'I am amazed at the work currently being done by McDonald's...'
Mr. SPURLOCK: Sure. Yeah.
BARTIROMO: '...in conjunction with their franchisees to create and deliver healthy alternatives to their consumers.'
Mr. SPURLOCK: Sure.
BARTIROMO: 'I believe your involvement will show what most people are witnessing: that McDonald's is committed to the healthy future of America.'
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah.
BARTIROMO: Did you--you wrote that?
Mr. SPURLOCK: Of course--of course I wrote that. And, look, wh--what did I just say to you? I picked McDonald's because they're the leader. They're the industry leader. They came out with salads. They're coming out with healthier options. Once again, these things are still window dressing around a bigger problem. You know, they're--they're still not educating their consumers. They are re--releasing healthier options. One--on--one of the things they love to tout is how many salads they sold last year. Last year McDonald's sold 150 million salads. People--people who come to McDonald's make smart choices. They care about their health. A hundred and fifty million salads sounds great when you hear the number, until you start to think about McDonald's feeds 46 million people a day; 17 billion people a year. That means not even 1 percent--not even one out of 100 people who go to McDonald's buys a salad, because that's not why we go there. We don't go there for salads. We go there for the stuff we like: for the burgers, the shakes, the french fries. So how do you help educate your consumers to make healthy choices? You see, that's where the slippery slope lies for a company like McDonald's, 'cause to start educating them to make healthier choices, you really stand to affect the profitability of your company, and that's a... BARTIROMO: But you...
Mr. SPURLOCK: ...that's--and that's--that's--that's a tough road to tow.
BARTIROMO: Were you in a different frame of mind when you wrote that e-mail? Did change your mind after going through the process?
Mr. SPURLOCK: I mean, there's nothing in that e-mail that's different from what I'm telling you right now.
BARTIROMO: It just seems that you were talking positively about McDonald's, that they are...
Mr. SPURLOCK: I still...
BARTIROMO: ...attempting this healthy lifestyle, and yet when we're talking right now...
Mr. SPURLOCK: Yeah. Yeah.
BARTIROMO: ...it seems that you're saying they need to make more responsibility and--and stop...
Mr. SPURLOCK: It's because I'm trying to get an interview. What do you expect me to say. Do you want me to say, 'Hey, you horrible people, you know, come talk to me'? You've got--look, you've got to be realistic. You know, it's like you're not going to call somebody up and, you know, call them a (censored) sucker and you want an interview.
BARTIROMO: There you go.
Mr. SPURLOCK: You know, you're going to call somebody up and you're going to say, 'Hey, I like--I'd like to have an interview with you. Let's--let's sit down and talk about this.' Yeah.
BARTIROMO: So part of it was your lure into getting them to talk to you...
Mr. SPURLOCK: Oh, yeah, yeah.
BARTIROMO: ...by writing that e-mail.
Mr. SPURLOCK: You--you always want to--you know, you always want to make sure people will want to talk to you. You know, if you're rude you won't no--want to talk to anyone….
BARTIROMO: Is Michael Moore some--a mentor of yours?
Mr. SPURLOCK: I think--I--I...
BARTIROMO: I mean, what did you think of the Michael Moore story, where Disney was trying to persuade Miramax not to release it?
Mr. SPURLOCK: Oh, I mean, I think--I think it's terrible. I thi--I think Disney's going to lose a lot of money. I think that--I think that, you know, we live in a country where people should have the right to say what they want. And you know, I understand Disney's point of view. Once again, they're a business. McDonald's is a business. You know, you have to do what's best for business. And to not lose tax breaks or potential tax breaks in Florida, yeah, maybe. But I think that his--his film's going to get out. You know, his film's going to get seen and I don't know what's going to happen. But and I--too, I mean, Michael Moore is a great filmmaker. Errol Morris is a great filmmaker. I love tons of filmmakers, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, Frank Capra. You know, there's a lot of people I admire…..

:)
 
RE:

I agree with Trevor. While it's important to demonstrate the nutrient-free-calorie-rich quality of fast food, if you go from eating a nutritious, moderate diet AND exercising to stuffing your face AND ENDING ALL EXERCISE, you're gonna suffer.

I wonder how Spurlock would have fared (pardon the pun) if he'd stayed with his previous Zen-Cuisine and only discontinued exercising.

Staying in shape is not just about what you eat but also about HOW MUCH you eat of any kind of food, AND ABOUT HOW YOU EXERCISE - OR DON'T.

A-Jock
 
RE:

Trevor, there are people who eat two or three Big Macs plus fries and a refillable large soda, who may or may not have eaten several Sausage McMuffins for breakfast but most likely didn't opt for oatmeal and bananas, who then sit down to some other type of less than healthy food for dinner and eaisly eat 5,000 calories a day and become fat and unhealthy. And yes, I could get fat on my ultra clean diet but I don't overeat. And yes obesity itself, even obesity brought on by overeating good food would be problematic but most peole are getting fat on that type of food and not clean, high complex carbs annd lean protein and yummy veggies and fruit. I don't think any fast food resturant is too concerned with the overall health of this country. They like profits. The only food I'd eat there is a small parfait for dessert or their wonderful ice cream, maybe a salad but not one with any of their meat because I prefer organic, untortured meat and usually don't eat animal protein for that reason. As for the ice cream, if you look at the nutritonal information they provide, a three ounce serving is quite doable even in a helthy diet. Only they put more like 9 ounces on their cones. I weighed one. I found Morgan cheerful, affable and bright though not nearly as intelligent as the terrific Mr. Moore. The information about school lunches alone makes the film worth seeing. Of course, it was an exaggerated look at fast food consumption but it's not completely off the mark and there's much value in seeing it. Sheesh, next you'll tell us that W won the debate last night!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

Wow, Trevor, what an interesting article! Thanks for posting that! I think that I heard about that Lady that they are talking about that lost 10 lbs doing the "McDonalds diet" on the radio about a month or so ago.
I still want to see the movie, out of curiosity, but that does help me realize that maybe it's not the food, or rather the fast food, but the amount of food that we eat.

Kathy
 
RE:

Ah, but this is where genes come into play. I just read about vegetarianism and the uncertainty of how large a role it plays in good health due to the fact that so many vegetarians have healthier lifestyles overall. They tend to exercise and don't smoke. I think if you cut out the exercise they'd still have the edge over people who eat poorly even if they exercise. Take someone like the runner Jim Fix, the runner, whose father died in his late thrities from heart disease. Fix ran but kept a fatty diet and died in his fifties. Many of my sibs don't exercise and eat a lot of things I wouldn't but we run toward lean and tend to be busy bodies and the non-smokers among my fathers' siblings, who didn't exercise have lived into their late eighties and early nineties. They were by no means couch potatoes but non-exercisers, definitely. I would chose a healthy diet and no exercise over a bad diet with exercise because I think my diet almost a preventative medicine in that the type of food I eat is chosen to reduce cancer and heart disease risks. If you have the genes for it and aren't a total sloth, exercise may not make that large a difference. When I quit exercising for a time after my foot injury, what I missed most was the way it made me feel. I didn't gain weight nor did my body chage much although I did lose some muscle. I think being sedentary has contributed to our getting larger along with an increase in consumption but the effects of desk jobs and gadgets to do for us would be less detrimental if we weren't driving though at MacDonald's to pick up dinner. Diet + exercise is the best equation but if exercise was out, diet could mean the difference between longevity or not, whereas, if exercise is available but diet is not up to snuff, exercise alone might not be enough to prevent potential illness. What do Catheites think?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

There's a P.S. though. Even when not exercising, I did tend to stay busy and lifestyle can be a form of exercise if it's busy enough and that's definitely true of my Aunts and Uncles and many of my siblings.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

Loved 'SuperSize Me' and hey, I think Michael Moore is great. Gets people thinking and talking, and there is nothing like a 'healthy' debate. Vive la differance!!!:) :)

Take Care
Laurie
 
RE:

Absolutely, Laurie. Michael looks like he may have visted a fast food joint a time or two! And Micky D's does have great French fries when they are hot out of the grease. My kids eat that or Subway or pizza once or twice a week and it makes my life easier when I am not home to cook. They think I'm a nut for eating the way I do and as long as they don't overdo it, a Crappy Meal }( is just fine every now and again. My kids actually think MacDonald's fries are better than mine although I cook mine in expeller pressed canola and with love, the ingrates! :)

Imagine how boring life would be if we all agreed all the time and didn't have Trevor to keep us on our toes! ;)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
Bobbi!

Do I keep you on your toes? ;-) I probably mostly just piss ya off! LOL!
Most of you know I get extremely annoyed with mainstream media and the way alot of things are distorted to fit a particular view. I just like to see things debated fairly that's all. And with solid facts and methods when possible.I know I come off as opinionated, which I am. But I really do respect everyone's opinions in here and am not trying to "keep everyone on their toes". I just love information and I love sharing it with you all.
And the people in here who I have gotten to know pretty well and consider my friends, there is nothing I wouldn't do to help you all if you asked. And I'm gonna keep annoying you all anyway so it doesn't matter how you feel!! LOL!! (I'm kidding)
Have a good one. In fact, have a Big Mac for me!
T. :)
 
Hey Susie.....

what, are ya gonna leave me to say these things WE are thinking and then take the fall for both of us!! Geez!! Thanks a bunch!! LOL!!
T.
:)
 
RE: Bobbi!

You, piss someone off, Trevor? Is that possible? D) One of the things I like about being opinionated and talking to others who are, is that we don't really think we are going to convert anyone to our opinions, we just like to express them. And the dialogue is great and while I may never go wholly in another direction, there's much to be learned and my own views can be adjusted, if only a little. I had no idea a woman had done a similar experiment and I'd love to see her take on it.

No can do on the Big Mac though! Haven't eaten meat in a few months and the idea of a Big Mac is utterly repulsive to me! LOL! How about tofu or texturized soy protein?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

Not reading all of the posts, I will offer what I think. We are responsible for what we eat. I cannot blame the food industry for trying to make some money. I personnally will usually get a grilled chicken salad at most fast food restaurants. If I take it home I use my own dressing. Every once in awhile I will just go for the french fries or dessert. And I enjoy it. I have been eating loads of veggies and protein sources so much if I leave town I can hardly wait to go home and eat my normal food. I feel ill if I over consume a lot of fat and sugar.
Diane Sue
 
RE:

I have to agree here with WD and others - WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not McDonald's, or Wendy's, or Burger King, or any other fast-food restaurant, corporation, chain, blah, blah, blah .... on and on and on!!!!

The education is out there. The media distorts things because underneath it all they are a BUSINESS, and ratings and circulation drive those businesses. But the knowledge and the education are out there.

Americans are not robots any more than the rest of the humans on this planet are. When you choose to devour a Big Mac and Gigantic Fries for lunch, you are making a CONSCIOUS CHOICE to do so. No one is forcing you to pull into the drive-through or walk into the Golden Arches and order that food.

I think the REAL problem is that no one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. There is no personal accountability. I don't really understand what message Mr. Spurlock was trying to get across, and the interview Trevor posted just mucks it up for me even further. Is he blaming individual choices? Is he blaming the big bad corporations for making billions of dollars on our poor food choices? Is he blaming himself? It's clear as mud.

But the bottom line for me is still ... I have a CHOICE as to what I eat, and so does every other adult human being on this planet. When we stop blaming everyone else for our own issues in this country, we will truly be "free".

Carol
:)
 
RE:

I think that's a gross over-simplification of the problem. Obesity is about more than lack of self-control or laziness in many cases. The study I cited above about simple carbs acting on the brain center which is triggerd by opiates is one example. There's another study which shows that many people who lean toward obesity do not produce enough of a peptide which is needed for the stomach to tell the brain it's full. Without a sufficient amount, overeating results. When you couple these characteristics with the over abundant fast food joints and the largely nutritionally bereft food you find at the local supermarkey, an obesity epidemic results. Sure there are many gluttons out there but there are also people who find themselves in a terrible situation because of genetic dispostions and both physical and psychological aspects. It's just not that black and white.
I'm an alcholic in recovery and I know that I have a choice about picking up that first drink becausee for me one's too many and a hundred's not enough, but when I was in it, it was not that simple and niether is obesity for many people.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE:

You'e as entitled to your opinion as I am, Bobbi, but I respectfully disagree with you. Obesity was not epidemic in this country 50 years ago. Neither was heart disease. What has changed? Two things which have are our diets, and our lifestyles. McDonald's is not in the business of "education", and as such I don't feel they should be obligated to educate their consumers. No restaurant should. They're in the business of making money, and as long as people buy Big Macs, they will continue to make money. I don't need studies of brain chemicals to tell me we're out of control as a people. All I have to do is look around at everyone. If one day they discover that obesity is a controllable disease, maybe they can save our great-grandchildren from the fate. No one will be happier than me! But for now, I believe we should exercise the gift of free will we all have, and make healthy choices. Again, it comes down to personal accountability.

I would love to keep up with this thread, but I'm going out of town for a week and won't have time. We'll have to agree to disagree, and I'll let everyone else discuss this one with you and catch up when I'm back.

Ta-ta!!

Carol
:)
 
RE:

I agree we are responsible for our own food choices, and McDonalds is not. However, I also agree with Bobbi that Obesity is a far more complex disease than we know. Maybe we didn't have this rate of obesity in the past, but we also didn't live as long, didn't have enough food to eat, & worked much harder & longer.

I think we're talking about two different things here. Accountability is one thing, the disease we have created & can't get rid of (yet) is another.

By the way, there's also the hormone issue. I have read that when stressed (and when are we not) the body releases a particular hormone which tells the brain to EAT, EAT, EAT!!!!! Another leftover from our past which has gone out of control due to our lifestyles & the abundance of food available to us.

No easy answers.

Ruth
 
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