SuperSize ME

Actually, I don't think McDonald's will admit that the elimination of super-sizing has anything to do with the movie. I saw the movie at the SXSW film festival in Austin in March (I don't think it had distribution at that point), and there was a Q&A with the director afterwards. FYI, at that point he still hadn't managed to lose the last 5 lbs. Anyhow, it was a great movie. And I thought it was pretty funny that his girlfriend is a vegan chef.

 

I originally didn't plan on seeing the movie, since it seemed pretty disgusting watching someone eat McDonalds for an hour or two. But then, I saw him on The Daily Show too, and he was pretty funny. For some reason, the doctors telling him "you must stop doing this right now, or you're going to die" with 9 days to go, was just hilarious. I must be a very bad person.

Here's the link, if anyone wants to watch his interview with Jon Stewart. Hi-larious:
http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/ds/v...eos_celeb.jhtml

 

One of the important conditions of the "study" conducted in Supersize Me was the activity restriction. Though realistic, and real world USA, it does point up the other half of the equation. Ultimately, it is a simple issue of calories in versus calories out. There is a high degree of commonality between the vast majority of the diet programs out there (such as Jennie Craig, South Beach, Weight Watchers, etc.). Physical Activity is also incredibly important. The 10,000 steps a day recommendation comes from a physician researcher at the University of Colorado Medical School at Denver, who feels that too much emphasis is put on diet and not enough on physical activity. Bottom line all diets will work as long as the dieter is restricting calories. And yes, even ukeright: Atkin's ukeleft: (my opinion, (Sorry, Dianne though I am glad it is working for you) ) restricts calories; he was just sneakier about it by slowing down stomach emptying and food transit through the gut with all that fat.

I heard that there is another guy who set out to provide a counter demonstration to Supersize Me. Ate the same diet but added an exercise program that consisted of both Aerobic and Weight Lifting components on a daily basis and despite eating 4500 calories worth of McDonald a day, over his 30 day period, lost 8 pounds and had drops in his Cholesterol and Blood Pressure. Once again it is Calories Adsorbed vs. Calories Burned.

Do I think McDonald's is particularly healthy, NO. But I don't want people to ignore the other half of the picture. As a family doc. I can't help but be passionate about this.

I'll get off my soapbox now. :roll: :roll: :roll:

Jon

 

In defense of the fast food industry, and to beat a dead topic:

The summer after my sophomore year of high school sucked. At the time I hadn't been eating very well (Twinkies for breakfast and lunch, and little chocolate donuts for dinner), and it was starting to show. I was about to take my driver's licensing test and needed money to pay for that and a car and insurance. There wasn't much near where I lived and my mother adimently refused to drive me anywhere for free (and since I was working to pay for my car it would be silly to hand my check over to her for gas). Since I had worked nearly everywhere in the minimall about a mile away from my house, I was left with two options; a dry cleaner's (which was figuratively and nearly literally a sweatshop) and McDonald's.

The sweatshop wouldn't hire me because I spoke too much English. My last resort was McDonald's. With my employee discount I was able to eat a relatively balanced meal (wormburger, fries, water) and since I had to walk everywhere and stand behind the counter for hours at a time, I was able to work off some of the extra pudge from my crappy junk food diet.

The moral of the story is, it's completely possible to eat fast food and maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle. "Everything in moderation"



I think that a major part of the obesity problem in the US today is the whole marketing-to-kids thing. (there's a lot of sidetracking here, but I think it'll prove a point-- bear with me please.) In the past children were much less sedentary than they are today-- the advent of electronic entertainment has pretty much closed off the outdoors for a lot of them. When the Happy Meal was introduced in 1979, Americans seemed to be settling into this incredibly lazy lifestyle revolving around the idiot box.

Now here's the science-- every half-hour of television programming contains between six and ten minutes of advertising. That's between twelve and twenty 30-second spots, and a multitude of them are for food. And of course if a child sees an ad for the cool new Happy Meal toy they're going to whine and moan until Mummy takes them down for it. They go home, sit in front of the TV, wolf down their burgers/ fries / lard cakes and everything is sweetness and light until the next happy meal toy comes out. And these days, bigger is better. Instead of a single cheeseburger, you can get a double cheeseburger in your Happy Meal. You can get six nuggets instead of four. Do they have a twenty-nugget happy meal yet? (My head is spinning just thinking of how many Happy Meals one would have had to consume to collect all those Beanie Babies they were offering...) Fast food becomes a comfort food. Even the most active children slow down and exercise less; things like homework and jobs take up the time where they would have gone outside and played all afternoon, thereby burning off any of the excess calories they would have consumed during the day. Unfortunately many people don't grow out of fast food; its no longer just a comfort but a convienence as well. I will admit to stopping at drive-thrus probably hundreds of times because it was just easier than preparing a meal-- or even getting out of the car. Short lunch breaks, spoiled children, and tight soccer-mom schedules are the lifeblood of the fast food industry.


While I agree that fast food can be detrimental to someone's health, Supersize Me blows this idea way out of proportion. It should be common sense that if you eat 1700-calorie fat-laden meals three times daily (and nothing else), you will suffer the consequences. And of course walking only 5000 steps a day will not help anyone keep that weight off.

(Side note: I would be interested to know if this 5000 steps includes other activities such as running or dancing; I also think it noteworthy that there are other avenues of excercising, like that Nordic-Trak thing, or riding a bicycle, or lifting weights.)


Frankly, the blame in this "epedemic" belongs to nobody but the consumer themselves. How could anyone be so naive to think that just because a part of a Big Mac is green, then it is good for you? McDonalds, Burger King, whoever-- they are simply providing a product and a service. Are we blaming gas companies and Helene Curtis or even Rubbermaid for selling a product that pollutes the environment? ... then why should we bother laying blame on someone else for our lack of self-restraint? I guess I don't get it.


My $.02. Do I get a toy with that?

 

Yeah, I remember always wanting to go to McDonalds for a Happy Meal, way back when. But my mom did something very interesting when I asked to go. She said "no." Alot. I think that's called "parenting," but I could be wrong. I remember wanting a lot of junk when I was a kid, and receiving very little of it, not because we couldn't afford it, but because my mom (and sometimes my dad) thought it was bad for my sister and I. Once again, the word "parenting" comes to mind.

Consequently, I have lots of trouble gaining weight. I eat and I eat, but I just can't seem to put on any pounds. woe is me : ) (let the lynching commence)

Also, I happen to love getting 20 McNuggets. Its almost a perfectly filling meal. No Coke/fries though, that stuff'll rot your teeth and kill you : )

 

Notice that they don't give out honey with their nuggets anymore, yet they give out caramel with apple slices. Gotta love the way they're playing health police now.

 

This'll show my age, but I saw my first McDonalds, maybe a half a mile from where I lived, about a month after becoming a vegetarian. Consequently, I've never eaten in a McD's in my life!

Before McDonalds, there were independently-owned neighborhood hamburger stands. Those disappeared from my neighborhood within a few years of the rise of McD's. Capitalism Unlimited. Big dog eats little dog. Self-employed businessmen put out of business, and in their place, dead-end minimum-wage no-benefits jobs.

Clint never advertised on TV. He never used clever advertising to goad little kids into terrorizing their parents into taking them out for junk food. He just served a generous portion of good-quality meat, piled THICK with tomato and lettuce and onion.

And the moral is that clever advertising counts for a lot more than quality food.

 

the guy in the movie walked farther than the average american walks every day and walked that distance purposefully.

supposedly, we all walk about 2.5 miles a day. (although i know several people who brings that average down) so he walked 3 miles a day.

 

Actually, I think (as a New Yorker), in his normal lifestyle, he walked more than the average American. As part of the SuperSize Me experiment, he limited his physical activity to match the average American, so he carried a pedometer to limit the number of steps he walked. I think that's pretty key, that he limited his physical activity to match a typical American, because everyone has made really good points that physical exercise is important in a healthy lifestyle, no matter what you eat.

 

I hardly ever eat at McD's, and if I do all I buy is a milk shake, they're not bad. Never eat their hamburgers and sometimes one or two fries: my GF seems to be fond of McD's, especially the McDrive. But I don't think we visit McD's more than 6 times a year, probably less. We like to cook our own meals or eat at real restaurants.

As for the movie, pointless experiment IMO, we all know that McD's food isn't healthy, at least not when you only eat at McD's. Maybe it helped his court case, but still I think it's a bit drastic. :mrgreen:
It's like jchu said, it's all about balance between how much calories you eat and how much calories you 'burn'.

 

i agree... i eat fast food waaaay more than i should, (BUT never in my car!!) but i also am a member of a gym that i go to 3-6 times a week. and on days im not at the gym, i bike a lot. in fact, before i got my car, my bike was my main mode of transportation (weather permitting... I DO NOT ride in the rain) since my F150 gets sucky gas mileage. i parked it when i realized that $20 didnt even give me half of one tank of gas (and i have TWO TANKS!!)

i will admit, since ive gotten the car though, i almost have to force myself to ride my bike now. which is even more tragic since now my area has moved into the summer time where the weather is very good here nearly all the time. (Makes up for the winter i guess)

but anyway, (I'm rambling) i am in very good shape and i attribute that to the bike and the gym. i started this exercise program in the last year and the differences are like night and day. i cant begin to tell you how many nagging medical problems just disappeared out of my life. so eat what ya want because as long as you are active, you can overcome.

with that said, i dont eat at McDonalds. been there about 4 times in the past 2 years. However, when it comes to Dominos, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and Quiznos, ive eaten those places at least 50-100 times each in the past few years.

 

Oh man, I really didn't need to hear that last part. My McDonalds meals always consist of 20 McNuggets and 4 containers of Sweet and Sour (which they make you pour yourself now, cheapskates). Now I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the night trying to forget that fact. Thanks alot : )
...
At this point, I should be focusing on what I use to think Sweet and Sour sauce was made of. But now I realize that I haven't the slightest idea, and never thought about it. ah, for simpler, more ignorant times