Ever want fries with that again?

I have been meaning for a while to write about Morgan Spurlock's new movie Super Size Me. By now, most of you have heard of this project in which Morgan attempts to eat nothing but McDonald's meals for thirty days. Serena and I went to see it a few weeks ago and we were not only highly entertained, but I left confident that my recent decision (April 18, 2004) to never again eat chain fast food (In N Out excepted, of course) would be less of an issue than ever.

While many have hemmed and hawed about whether Morgan's methodologies were strictly scientific, I think that the weight (no pun intended) of his message is clear and well-founded. In just thirty days of eating nothing but McDonald's this otherwise healthy guy puts on twenty-five flabby pounds! In addition, as he told Newsweek:

"My body just basically falls apart over the course of this diet. I start to get tired, I start to get headaches; my liver basically starts to fill up with fat because there's so much fat and sugar in this food. My blood sugar skyrockets, my cholesterol goes up off the charts, my blood pressure becomes completely unmanageable. The doctors were like, 'You have to stop.'"

Lest you be left with any doubt about the power of today's food offerings to wreck our bodies, Harvard Magazine did a wonderful feature piece on the historical evolution of our diet and the implications for our ever-expanding national girth. Check it out and be sure to see Super Size Me.

Comments

[NY Pete]

Saw that movie a couple weeks ago, and haven't eaten anything remotely fast food since. My friends and I felt physically ill after watching it... Mr. Spurlock's commentary certainly opened our eyes to all the junk (nearly non-nutritional) food out there. ABC News did a lot of stories last week on obesity in America, this stuff has to hit home if the little man in your head has ever asked you why you "need" that 12th chicken wing...

[Chester]

This isn't to spite you or anything, but I think I'm going to go next door and have McDonald's for lunch. Trust that I shall give it up for my main man on drive-through.

[Molly]

If they really wanted to get people off fast food they'd make a documentary showing what you have to do to otherwise recognizable meat to make it look like chicken mcnuggets.
Fascinating.

[Chester]

I know you're busy partying it up on Friday nights and all, but would you mind updating your blog once in a fucking while?

[Abercrombie clothing]

I'd like to point out that we have a shiny, black T-bird convertible for sale with your name written all over it.5

[abercrombie]

This isn't to spite you or anything, but I think I'm going to go next door and have McDonald's for lunch.