Super Size Me
The Documentary that Shook America
“Look after the customer and the business will take care of itself.”
— Ray Kroc, McDonald’s founder
At the time the documentary was made, around 100 million Americans were obese—approximately 60% of American adults. The most obese state was Mississippi, and 1 out of 4 Americans was obese.
In 2002, the families of two obese teenage girls sued McDonald’s, claiming that the company was responsible for their weight problems since they regularly ate there. McDonald’s lawyer defended the company, arguing that the health risks of eating at McDonald’s were already well-known and that the girls did not eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at McDonald’s every day, so the company could not be held accountable.
The court stated that if there was evidence that eating three times a day at McDonald’s could be harmful to one’s health, then it was possible to proceed with the lawsuit.
Where does personal responsibility end, and where do the responsibilities of companies producing junk food begin?
The director of this documentary carries out a social experiment on himself: he eats at McDonald’s three times a day, every day for a month, to show the damaging effects of regularly eating junk food. Spurlock is monitored by a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and a general practitioner.
This documentary breaks a taboo in America. Criticizing smokers is socially accepted, but targeting obese people suffering from junk food addiction is often seen as intolerant.
The documentary also features Jared Fogle,1 Subway’s spokesperson, who became famous for losing a large amount of weight by eating at Subway. He suggests that audiences should choose Subway instead of McDonald’s because it is healthier. At one event, a young girl, accompanied by her mother, asked Fogle for advice, explaining that she was bullied by her classmates. He told her: “I know what being bullied means; the world doesn’t change—you have to change yourself.”
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Another testimony is Don Gorske, the man who ate the most Big Macs in history—a sort of Guinness World Record holder. Celebrated as McDonald’s most loyal customer, he was presented as proof that even eating Big Macs every day could still leave someone in relatively good shape.
The documentary also addresses junk food in schools. In many public schools, where the government spends as little money as possible, the quality of food was very poor, and children were taught to eat badly. However, in a school in Appleton, Wisconsin, a different approach was taken: healthy, unprocessed food was served to problematic youngsters. The results showed that students were less angry, less aggressive, and less nervous. This suggests that junk food not only clogs arteries and causes weight gain but also creates mental and behavioral issues.
During his McDiet, Morgan Spurlock developed several health problems: he gained weight, his liver was damaged, his sexual performance declined dramatically, and overall, his physical condition deteriorated. He successfully demonstrated how harmful junk food can be if consumed regularly.
Six weeks after the documentary was presented at the Sundance Film Festival, McDonald’s removed the “Super Size” option from its menu.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390521/
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Just for your information, in 2015, Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 Years in prison for sex with minors and child pornography.