super-size me

[jean]

has anyone heard of this movie about a guy who only ate mcdonald's for a month or so and documented it? my question is: is this pretenscious or pertinent? since i haven't seen it yet (but will) i'd be interested to hear what other people think.

here's the info below...

Why are Americans so fat? Find out in Super Size Me, a tongue in-cheek - and burger in hand -- look at the legal, financial and physical costs of America's hunger for fast food.

Ominously, 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and 2 out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it our fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame?


Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the "Fattest City" in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and "gut feelings" on our ever-expanding girth.


During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for an entire month with three simple rules:


1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No supersizing unless offered
3) he had to eat everything on the menu at least once.

for more info, see
http://www.supersizeme.com
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Jean Railla
my blog: http://mealbymeal.blogspot.com/

[topazdebutante]

What is sad that it is cheaper to go bigger. Today at 7-11 I got a Big Gulp for $1.06. I could have gotten a Super Big Gulp for .79 cents. The things I knew I would never finish it nor do I need the extra caffiene or calories.

I miss McDonalds small fries, the one that game in the bags.

I don't think that they should call them kids meals. I think they should call them "appropriate portions for adults meals" because truly they fill me up and most of what you get in the children's sizes are correct protions instead of overstuffed ones.

I took a couple of nutrition classes and boy does it make you realize what kind of junk is out there.
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[peppermintsquare]

Ooh, I can't wait to see this documentary! Personally, I despise McDonald's.

We tried to see it during SXSW in March. We stood in a really long line for an hour, only to be told that the distributor was limiting the number of seats to 300 in a 1200 person theater. Poo on the distributor.
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[jean]

yeah. now that i have a kid, i've been reading up on nutrition and fast food and i'm really freaked out about the state of food and health in our country. that said, i've been known to consume fast food and i don't want to be one of those people who looks down on everyone who doesn't eat all organic all the time. i think the conversation can sometimes feel elitist. i've been researching healthy alterantives for public school lunches; that seems like a really grass roots opportunity to create change in the american diet.
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my blog: http://mealbymeal.blogspot.com/

[becca_13]

thins may sound simplistic, but i eat what i want in reasonable portions, junk food included. no one is forcing me to eat anything, and even if i do get a supersized meal, if i get full i just stop eating.

howecer if i want biggie fries i will have it, but i wouldn't eat it everyday because i am not an idiot.

it is "fast food", not good for you food. i take personal responsibility for what goes in my mouth and the effects of it.

[Katrin]

A coworker & I were just discussing this yesterday, after seeing a newspaper article claiming that many popular diet plans are just too expensive for many people to follow—the only affordable food is often unhealthy and if you're already fat, it will keep you fat.

I don't buy that entirely—I know there's some truth that diets often recommend pricey food, but it's not all that difficult to make substitutions, especially if you're willing to do without some of the variety. But yes, healthy food is harder to find and more labor-intensive to prepare. If you're in a hurry or just exhausted from working all day, it's a lot more convenient to pick up fast food or order out. I'm trying to cut down on doing that myself.

One more thing about just stopping eating when you've had enough: Sounds like the perfect solution in theory, and if you're able to do that, that's wonderful. However, common foods can cause a reaction in some people who are "sensitive" to them, that just makes them crave more and more, no matter how full they are. They can't just stop. They're actually allergic to the food and should avoid it, but don't realize that—especially if it's something found in almost everything they eat. I only know this because I have this problem (for me, specifically with dairy). I wouldn't be surprised if it's the root cause for a lot of people's so-called "compulsive eating problems".

And since fast food and convenience food contain a lot more additives and hidden ingredients than fresh foods, the likelihood is much greater that there's going to be something in there that produces an adverse reaction in any given person.

[twilight]

I just bought tickets for Super Size Me, it's playing the 16th at the Taos film festival. Reminds me of Fast Food Nation which is an amazing book about the industry.

This might be tmi, but don't dismiss the medicinal side of McD's. When I used to get constipated I would have a mcdonald's hamburger. Worked every time.

(no more non organic cow for me though, mad cow disease spooked me away from it)
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[jean]

[Elf_Chick]

becca said: "if i get full i just stop eating."

i think a lot of people don't realize when this is, though. especially in the case of fast food, you're usually in a hurry, in some cases driving or juggling other activities, and may not be paying attention to how much you're taking in until you get that "uhhhh...too full" feeling.

Also, i think the "clean your plate" mentality is very strong, since it's something ingrained in you from when you're a kid, and you feel bad for being wasteful when there are starving kids in China/Africa/country-region of choice.

But yes, the supersizing of everything doesn't help this. But as it was pointed out, the combo meal or the 372 oz. drink is often the better value monetarily.
also, i think people often can't estimate how much food is going to fill them up, so they err on the larger size, since in this country advertising etc. has pumped into our collective subconscious that across the board bigger/more is better (cars, house, breasts, penis, etc.). i think the Happy Meal for adults sentiment is right on, because it is a very controlled portion; you're not just endlessly groping unknown amounts of fries out of a bag (i have to do this with snacky things like chips too: put some in a little bowl and only eat that amount, or else i'll mindlessly eat half the bag). And it's much easier to "clean your plate" without getting way too full in the process, and you don't feel guilt for leaving large amounts behind.

as to the "stop eating when you're full" point, i have to consciously try to do this, because when you get fast food you're often rushing to do something else/get somewhere etc. and want to be done eating as fast as possible and you're not paying attention to portion, which is less the case if you're at a sit-down restaurant (the exception to the "rush factor" here is if it's someplace like Chili's where they're trying to turn the table over quickly and try to shoo you out, but i digress), or when you're at home.
Also, they say if you eat at a more moderate pace you tend to think about it more and don't eat to excess, though that doesn't really work with the trying to get to work, ten minutes late, trying not to go through red lights etc. experience that often accompanies fast food.

It's also said that when you feel full then you've *already* eaten too much. Even at real restaurants i do this. I don't like to take food home, but i want to be "good" and clean that plate. And at real restaurants you feel really guilty since you've usually paid way more for a meal than you certainly would have at a fast food place, so if you don't finish you're wasting food AND money.

[Armande]

Great bad idea for a movie indeed!
Is it true that junkfood is cheaper than a homecooked meal? Here in The Netherlands that's not the case. All fast food is fairly expensive I think. For a meal for 2 (burger, fries, sodas) we pay about $ 18 or so. I can cook 2 meals for that kind of money.

I never have any supersize because it's way too much. Dave does though, and he can eat all that. I never manage to finish a soda at McD.
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[sun bear]

It's probably not that much cheaper, just easier, e.g.
2 big mac meals here are probably about 11 dollars. Last night we had steaks and shrimp, and i'll break it down
steaks: $6 dollars for 2 people
18 shrimp: $3 (approx, i used about half of a 6 dollar package)
garlic: $.50 (guessing)
lime: $.50
honey, oil seasonings etc let's say $2
fries $.75 (used half a package)

That's a whopping 12.75 bucks for a MUCH nicer meal than at McD's. Was it easier and faster? no. If we were to do hamburgers and fries at home (which are much better than mc'ds, I'd guess
$1 per patty, $.10 per bun, $.10 cheese, $.50 condiments, $.50 tomato, $.75 fries, my grand total is $4.05 for two people...almost the price of one big mac meal... so no it's not cheaper to eat at mcdonalds, unless you include the time it takes to make all that plus electricity, even then probably not that much of a difference, you still have to wait for mcd's at the drivethru and gas here is $$$.

Although I suppose you could eat off the dollar menu, get a chicken sandwich for a dollar a small fries for a dollar and a drink for a dollar and that's still 6 bucks for two people...but most people don't like to make food, I certainly don't unless i'm inspired by the tv or am excited by the food i'm making, so i think of mcd's as cheaper, but it's not...it's just cheaper than going to a nice sit down place.

jt

[becca_13]

[Morgan]

This is a cool thread! I really want to see that movie.
One of the things the author talked about in "Fast Food Nation" (Such an awesome book!) was about how the meat industry is heavily subsidized in the US, so meat is much cheaper than it is in most countries. & McDonald's & other fast food places get a lot of money from the gov. for hiring handicapped/old/disadvantaged workers, so they're able to save money that way (although they actually don't teach them any skills, which is what the money is supposed to be for). So it ends up that the government makes fast food cheaper than it really should be, & therby "promotes" unhealthyness! Which is crazy, because it ends up costing us so much more in obesity-related health care costs.
Plus that most of the workers quit before six months, when McDonald's would have to start paying health insurance, so they save tons that way, too.
The thing is, people do have a responsibilty for what they eat. Everyone knows McDonald's isn't healthy, yet they still eat it. If people asked for more healthy food, McDonald's would serve it. People in Europe ask me fairly often if all Americans really are fat, because that's what they hear/see on tv.
As for stopping eating when you're getting full, one problem is that once your stomach gets stretched out, it takes way more to get you full. Plus that some scientists think that fat people have a problem with the "statiety center" in the brain, like a problem with the receptors for lecithin which leads to a full feeling, so they don't get full like the rest of us. Or else maybe a problem with the hunger center, so they get the urge to eat much more.
They also have serious issues with the quality of meat used & conditions at meat-packing plants, the treatment of workers, recycling, & things like that! I hope the movie addresses those issues, too.

[Katrin]

[Elf_Chick]