McDonald's Diet Movie

[Guest guest]

Interesting article about a film maker who ate only at

McDonald's for 30 days and subsequently developed

blotchy skin, a toxic liver, and 25 pounds.

 

Since the release of the movie, McDonald's has

discontinued it's super size portions, although they

deny it was due to the movie.

 

 

Arch Enemy

 

By Megan Lehmann

January 22, 2004

New York Post

 

 

Film maker Morgan Spurlock's new documentary, " Super

Size Me, " details his 30-day McDonald's diet and

subsequent health woes.

 

Last February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a

gastronomical guinea pig.

 

His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at

McDonald's and document the impact on his health.

 

Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens

of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping

6-foot-2 New Yorker - who started out at a healthy 185 pounds -

had packed on 25 pounds.

 

But his supersized shape was the least of his

problems.

 

Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet,

Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car,

and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly

Spurlock's entire body deteriorated.

 

" It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart

over the course of 30 days, " Spurlock told The Post.

 

His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a

low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered

headaches and depression.

 

Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a

tongue-in-cheek documentary, which he has taken to the

Sundance Film Festival with the hopes of getting a distribution

deal.

 

" Super Size Me " explores the obesity epidemic that

plagues America today - a sort of " Bowling for

Columbine " for fast food.

 

As well as documenting his own burger-fueled bulk-up,

Spurlock travels to 20 cities across America,

interviewing people on the street, health experts and a lobbyist

for the fast-food industry.

 

Despite making dozens of phone calls, Spurlock fails

to get anyone from McDonald's to agree to an on-camera

interview.

 

A spokeswoman for McDonald's told The Post yesterday

that no representatives from the corporation had seen

" Super Size Me. "

 

" Consumers can achieve balance in their daily dining

decisions by choosing from our array of quality

offerings and range of portion sizes to meet their taste and

nutrition goals, " McDonald's said in a statement.

 

Over the course of the film, Spurlock is regularly

examined by a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and

SoHo-based general practitioner Dr. Daryl Isaacs.

 

" He was an extremely healthy person who got very sick

eating this McDonald's diet, " Dr. Isaacs told The

Post.

 

" None of us imagined he could deteriorate this badly -

he looked terrible. The liver test was the most

shocking thing - it became very, very abnormal. "

 

Spurlock has since returned to normal health. " The

treatment was to just stop doing what he was doing, "

Dr. Isaacs says.

 

Spurlock, who says he ate at McDonald's only

sporadically before his total immersion in the Mickey

D's menu, says he even began craving fat and sugar fixes between

meals.

 

" I got desperately ill, " he says. " My face was

splotchy and I had this huge gut, which I've never had

in my life.

 

" My knees started to hurt from the extra weight coming

on so quickly. It was amazing - and really

frightening. "

 

Spurlock's girlfriend, Alex Jamieson, was horrified -

she's a vegan chef.

 

" She was completely disgusted by me, not happy at

all, " he says. " But she realized what my goals were in

trying to educate people. "

 

Spurlock, a film producer who grew up in West Virginia

and studied ballet for eight years, was spurred to

make his first feature film while watching TV on Thanksgiving

Day, 2002.

 

" I was feeling like a typical American on Thanksgiving

- very bloated and happy on the couch - and at some

point on the news they were talking about two women who were

suing McDonald's.

 

" People from the food industry were saying, 'You can't

link kids being fat to our food - our food is

nutritious.'

 

" I said, 'How nutritious is it really? Let's find

out. "

 

Not surprisingly, Spurlock has steered clear of the

Golden Arches since filming wrapped.

 

" I have not had McDonald's for seven months, but

yesterday, during an interview, I had a bite of a Big

Mac, " he

says.

 

" I chewed it up, swallowed it and I said, 'You know

what, I'm pretty much done after that bite. "

 

Movie Website

http://www.supersizeme.com

[Guest guest]

People need to stop blaming McDonalds for all their

health problems. Common sense says if you eat a

hamburger, fries and coke everyday your weight will go

up and you will be deficient in nutrients therefore

have unhealthy skin. McDonalds is just a fast food

restuarant who happens to keep alot of people working.

 

They also donate to charity. If you want good health

eat there only once in awhile. They use to have the

McLean. It was a healthier hamburger which I liked.

Unfortunately I was one of the very few who ordered it

so they discontinued it. Please stop picking on

McDonalds...don't like it? Don't eat there!

 

 

 

 

alchematron <alchematron wrote:

 

> Interesting article about a film maker who ate only

> at

> McDonald's for 30 days and subsequently developed

> blotchy skin, a toxic liver, and 25 pounds.

>

> Since the release of the movie, McDonald's has

> discontinued it's super size portions, although they

> deny it was due to the movie.

>

>

> Arch Enemy

>

> By Megan Lehmann

> January 22, 2004

> New York Post

>

>

> Film maker Morgan Spurlock's new documentary, " Super

> Size Me, " details his 30-day McDonald's diet and

> subsequent health woes.

>

> Last February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a

> gastronomical guinea pig.

>

> His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at

> McDonald's and document the impact on his health.

>

> Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and

> dozens