This weekend, K and I went to see Supersize Me, a documentary film about a fellow who conducted a grueling experiment upon himself. He subjected himself to nothing but foodstuffs from McDonald’s for thirty days… breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would not eat or drink anything unless he could buy it at the Golden Arches… even bottled water.
Within the first few days of his “diet”, Morgan Spurlock was already feeling ill (and seeing his lunch return back up), but claimed that once he passed the three day mark, his stomach was stronger. It’s funny and eerie at the same time.
It’s incredibly difficult to see the physical trauma that Morgan puts his body through… he was perfectly healthy to begin with. During the course of his McD’s binge, he turned his health upside-down, and gained twenty-something pounds. It’s something most normal people won’t do, but I’m glad someone did… this goes to show America what it’s doing to itself. Bravo, Mr. Spurlock.
Subjects also touched upon are the lack of good nutrition in public schools, the corporate machines & the commercial aspect of food in the modern world, as well as the artificial ingredients in our foods. Losta information to absorb, but it’s all good to know.
I was pleased to see that after a couple of weeks in wide release, this film was being shown in multiple theaters in our area (not just the Camera 3! Amazing!), and apparently 197 screens nationwide. The showing we attended also had a fairly decent amount of people of all ages in attendance. I’m glad to see that the message about America’s gluttony and excess is getting to a wider audience.
This has also pushed me more towards a career in food science/nutrition (which I have been heavily considering lately anyways; more on that soon)… there simply just is not enough convenient and good for you food available to the masses, and it’s way overdue. Something needs to be done, even if it’s one person at a time.
On a related note, I have also been reading (on and off… I’m sure it’s overdue at the Library, oops) Fat Land by Greg Critser, which I recommend for a more in-depth look at the obesity problem in America.
See this movie and read this book… it’s a sobering look into the fat underbelly of our country. It really is enough to make you change your ways.
Does anyone REALLY think that eating fast food and prepackaged meals is a healthy lifestyle choice? I think it’s more American hopeful-handwaving: We KNOW it’s bad for us, but we do it anyway (and pretend it’s not) because it’s more convenient.
Plus, ANYTHING done in extremes is unhealthy. One would never argue that water is bad for you, but if you drank 20 gallons of it a day for a month straight, your body would be in a world of hurt..