Morgan Spurlock, an independent film maker took the decision to follow a 30 day diet modification plan allowing him to consume products which could only be found on the McDonald’s menu. The reason for this change in eating habits was to prove that the fast food industry within the United States is accountable for the increasing obesity rate of the country.
He wanted to show the world exactly how the fast food industry achieves its main interest of financial gain by continuing to promote unhealthy eating habits. The 2004 Academy Award nominated movie, Super Size Me, concentrated on the current global health and weight epidemic and proved to many that the fast food industry is working hand in hand with obesity to create a bigger world.
Fast Food and Obesity Provide Ground Rules for Documentary Style Film
Spurlock consumed 5000 each day whilst on the 30 day McDonald’s diet plan and during this time he had to eat three meals daily and every item of the menu had to be indulged in at least once during the duration of the plan. The day before the diet commenced Spurlock weighed in at 185 pounds. He was a six feet two inches tall healthy thirty two year old with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 23.2. By the end of the plan he had put on 24.5 pounds and his BMI had reached 27.
Bearing in mind a healthy BMI for someone of Spurlock’s age, height and weight should fall between 19 and 25, it was clear to see that he had gone from the healthy to overweight bracket in a relatively short period of time when following the McDonald’s eating plan. This proved to many people that his claim of the relationship between fast food and obesity was duly substantiated. In fact, during the first five days alone of following the fast food diet he gained nearly ten pounds in weight.
Results of Fast Food And Obesity Experiment
The movie created by Spurlock made a huge impression on the United States and other nations who to this date had supported the McDonald’s fast food industry and although the company denied the movie to be the reason, McDonald’s quickly phased out the supersize option on their menu and added salads as a healthy option for their customers to take.
It has to be taken into consideration that some of the so called healthy offerings consist of fried chicken portions and salad dressings just oozing with fat. These particular choices contain more grams of fat and calories than the burger and fries option. McDonalds, however, have never actually agreed that fast food and obesity are closely related; in the same way that they never admitted that the items on their menu are a recipe for obesity.
Although McDonald’s now offer what they call healthy options compared with their many full fat fast food choices, the consumer will not select the healthy option just because it appears on the menu. The customers can personally modify the menu to suit their requirements, but the majority of them simply don?t bother to do this.
This would lead us to believe that training the customer to think about what they eat holds more importance than pointing the finger at big businesses. Subway have made a concerted effort to broadcast their healthy eating practices and the options available on their menu whilst McDonald’s have continued to sell the products which have made them so well known, ignoring for the best part any health guidelines whatsoever. Therefore, it would appear to be the responsibility of the consumer to make the right decision about exactly what they eat.
