One of the most widespread epidemics in the United States is childhood obesity. More and more kids are turning to fast food chains for their lunches and dinners because of ease and taste. One documentary went out to prove that going this route is not only unhealthy for you, but it is also detrimental to the society as a whole. Morgan Spurlock states “40 percent of Americans eat out” (Spurlock 2004) which adds to the ever growing epidemic. People are choosing to eat out rather than cook a meal at home. Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me set out to prove that the food chain McDonalds is one of the leading sources of childhood obesity.
In the documentary, directing and starring Morgan Spurlock, Morgan decides to see what the effects on his health would be if he ate McDonalds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for 30 days. He had to eat everything off the menu at least once, and every time they asked he had to “Super Size” the meal. In doing this, he sets out to prove that fast food is detrimental to your health. “One of the most disturbing things to me is that in the last 20 to 25 years, we've actually seen a doubling of overweight and obese children and adolescents.” (Spurlock 2004).
I think overall that the movie was very effective. In the beginning he weighed in at about 185 pounds, and at the end of 30 days his weight had increased 24.5 pounds. He also had a number of health complications because of eating McDonalds every day for every meal. It showed the way in which McDonalds and fast food in general can affect the body due to the high carbohydrate and high sugar components of most fast food meals.
However there were some things that were not as effective in the movie. For instance some of his drastic methods have been called into question, such as him only eating McDonalds and not exercising at all. Due to the fact he only eats McDonalds and not exercising may have skewed the results of a normal person.
When I was in school the lunches consisted of pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and just about anything that was unhealthy for you. Soda was also pretty standard as well as sports beverages such as Gatorade or Powerade. This is vastly different from the school that Morgan visits in Super Size Me. In the documentary he visits Wisconsin’s Appleton Central Alternative School, which banned Soda soft drinks and chemically processed foods. This helps to fight childhood obesity by teaching kids about smart choices with food and drinks, which my school unfortunately did not have the same teaching principles. As a result of the wholesome foods that this school serves, the student body has become “More focus and better behavior” (Spurlock 2004). I think this outcome is important to battling the obesity epidemic.
Overall, this film is very influential and I think that it is very shocking that schools served this kind of food normally in schools. Obesity is an epidemic that we can fight, and I think that Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 film Super Size Me was a stepping-stone in waging the war on obesity. It opened up a lot of peoples eyes to what fast food can really do to a person and to makes people more aware of the healthiness of the meals that they eat.
WORKS CITED
Super Size Me. Morgan Spurlock. Kathbur Pictures. 2004. Film.
