Supersize me?

I heard that after that show McDonalds changed quite a bit- meaning they don't lie about what is in their food and they've added some healthier choices. The salads really aren't healthy at all. The chicken, bacon, ranch salad has more fat than a big mac. I like the Arby's and Wendy's salads because you can get tasty vinagrette instead of fattening ranch and the salads have more greens in them, rather than just ice berg.

I loved that documentary. I thought it was great. He is a comedian, so you could take what he says with a grain of salt. It just amazes me how many people I know who eat fastfood on a daily basis. It's so unhealthy to eat it that much.

I watched it a while back and loved it. My first reaction was that everyone I knew needed to watch it.

What I found most interesting (sad) was the school meal programs and all of the junk and unhealthy food they have in schools. I know the high school where my kids went to school just served fast foods brought in.

I also was interested the affects of depression he felt.

My son still won't eat Chicken McNuggets. My daughter on the other hand - it didn't phase her at all.

I think McDonald's is okay once in a blue moon, but certainly NOT every day every meal blehhhhh!!!!!!!

I think the major obesity problems in America have to do with everyone being so busy, on the go, getting fast food way too much. Also, the foods that are sold here are soo high in fats and calories and they are served/sold in very big portions most of the time. Depression I think also has an affect - it tends to make people eat a lot more. Sometimes it makes you not eat, but it can be the other way around too. Also, just laziness plays a big role in it. Or having to sit in the office all day long at work.

I do believe that the salads and all that came out after the movie, McDonald's was embarrassed and their sales dropped a lot, so they even had this weird 'adult happy meal' for awhile which has bottled water, a salad, and a pedometer I think. And now in all their comercials they say stuff y'know like 'get active' and have sports players say things etc.

Well I'm not gonna say that McDonalds doesn't make you fat. I've given up eating out and have lost 5lbs in the past month but I don't think that is necessarily what is making American's fatter.

There are probably man factors to it. One we are a nation getting older. And as you get older you do tend to carry more fat. Although that doesn't explain the young people running around fat now.

The other thing that I believe is messing with our bodies is all the hormones they pump into meat in efforts to bulk it up. And the the modification they make to foods in general.

Add into that a lack of excercise and stress levels and wham you have a bunch of fat people running around. It's a sad sad thing.

I haven't seen the movie, but heard about it...where by the end of 3 weeks his doctor told him to stop because he was having all sorts of internal problems.

My thing is, if this was truely part of the documentary, FDA allow this??? I mean, FF has become such a common place in the U.S. and if its doing this stuff to our bodies why do we allow it? Really, if the FDA can take away medicine because it had enough reported cases of a particular drug causing a heart attack, can't they step in and say "Hey Burger King...humans cannot handle the amount of daily fat all in one meal"??? Even the "healthy" stuff I try to avoid, as they still aren't as healthy as they claim.

A couple of years ago I was on the brink of being overweight. I immediately cut out FF and lost 10 pounds in a short period of time. I do eat it on occassion...but that'll be like 2 times a year at the most.

I visited my brother in Missouri several years ago and couldn't believe they didn't have much in the way of food in their house - they ate out all the time and they all drank copious amounts of soda pop.

They came to visit us and my brother was going to cook us a special dinner and said we would need to go shopping for the food. I said, let's make a list - everything he needed I had in the house including pork tenderloin and canned tomatoes and cheese.

He was amazed to see my cold room stocked and all the stuff we had in our freezer.

We rarely eat out and all food at our house is made from scratch - no mixes and no pre-made food. We find that we don't have a weight problem other than putting on a couple (5 or less) pounds in the last 15 years which doesn't trouble me at the dear old age of 59 and 120 lbs.

We don't drink pop (sodas) and never eat at McDonald/Taco Bell type places.

I do believe eating healthy/smart and having a good variety of foods is the way to go.

I feel qualified to address this issue for two reasons: one, I made a sarcastic comment in the Victoria's Secret thread with this very phrase; and two, I am a 40-y/o woman who has been fat for basically the last 30 years.

I think there are a lot of reasons why people are getting fatter, diabetes is growing rampant, etc. One is that with most adults in a household working, there is not only less time to shop, prepare, cook, etc. -- it is also less likely that kids are being taught to cook the way they once were.

I don't know about you, but when I took home economics in the late 70s and early 80s, in high school, most of the cooking we learned was desserts. If not for my mother's patient instruction, I wouldn't have even known the basics when I got my first apartment at 20. I had a lot of friends who spent all their discretionary income at restaurants because they couldn't cook. How are people like that going to pass on the art of cooking to their kids?

People exercise less in the U.S. because our society is geared toward motorists. Schedules are hectic, and eating a healthy diet is rarely the fastest or "handiest" way to eat. Fresh fruits and vegetables must be cleaned and prepared before use. Many people were raised on meat and potatoes, and they skip veggies now that Mom isn't around to fuss at them.

Even Mom's way wasn't the best. Mine used to drown vegetables in butter -- yummy, to be sure, but hardly healthy. It took me a long time to learn to appreciate vegetables cooked just until tender, with a bit of salt and pepper and (preferably) no butter. Even now, I still lapse and slather them. LOL I'm sure I'm not alone.

Buying fresh foods can also be expensive -- particularly if you don't use them in time and wind up throwing them away. It's easier to stock your pantry with cans and boxes and your freezer with bags and boxes. Lots of people only eat fresh food if someone else cooks it.

The only way to change it is for people to want to eat a better diet and start doing it. Will that happen? Maybe, after enough people drop dead at premature ages from heart disease and strokes and diabetes. I certainly hope so.

Read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and a guarantee that you won't eat meat for a good week after reading it or fast food for a good month.

A good companion movie to Supersize Me is The Corporation. I loved them both.

Also, one of the junior highs in my hometown was in that film. Madison Junior High in Naperville, IL. That was a bit of a surprise to see on the big screen!

The FDA is so backwards that it just doesn't know which end is up. Do you know that they might allow the U.S. to import pharmaceuticals soon? Like...counterfeit ones?

That, and the federal government, particularly with the current administration, has a keen ability to turn a blind eye on rich megacorproations no matter how much damage they do. I mean, look at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, McDonald's...they all have the money to keep people quiet.

Man, I really must go to the video store and rent these movies already. They're on "the list" but we hardly ever watch movies (takes too much time away from TCS ).
I agree with Yosemite - make as much from stratch as possible. I always make lots in one meal, then we have enough leftovers for another meal, either tomorrow or freeze it. That way you're cutting down on how often you have to cook too.
After eating fairly healthily for the last few years, my husband & I are amazed at just how bad food often tastes to us when we do go out - too much fat, salt & a processed taste.
In the end, what you put in your body is up to you. You can sit around complaining and try to sue people, but at the end of the day if you choose to smoke, drink excessively and/or gorge yourself on fast foods, you're the one who's going to pay.

I'm sorry, but I don't want the government to tell me what I can or cannot eat! That is WAY too much governmental power! I don't want them in my bedroom OR my kitchen.

I'll admit that I do probably eat fast food more often than I should. But that is my CHOICE. Those people who tried to sue McDonalds for making them fat are idiots who want to pass the buck. They CHOSE to eat something that is so obviously bad for you, even without reading the nutrition information, and they also CHOSE to lead a sedintary lifestyle. What happened to personal responsibility and consequenses for your choices? No one forced a person a "SuperSize" their order. No one forces a person to eat all of the large portions that are served at family restaurants. They will all give you a box (for free!) to take 1/2 the meal home. And it is a LOT more expensive to eat out than it is to cook a meal at home or bring leftovers or a sandwich to work for lunch.

I think that supersize me is inherently flawed. Considering almost all the restaurants in the world, if anyone ate like a voracious pig 3 times a day at the exact same restaurant, that person would likely show a gross deterioration in health. We've been aware for years and years, and years... and years how fatty fast food is, yet there are people who continue to act like it is a shocking revelation. I've never eaten like a glutton 3 times a day at the exact same restaurant in a single day let alone for a ridiculous period of time, so this film doesn't interest me in the least. I find no common denominator in it. I don't know of a single soul who eats like that.

I agree. I don't care what restaurant it is, if you eat the same food three times a day for a month, you're going to have some level of problem, one way or another. It's totally unrealistic.

I eat at McDonald's. Usually three times a week. I'm 5'6" and I weigh 140 pounds. And before you blame my metabolism, I'm also utterly hypothyroid...my thyroid does not work at all, which makes me extremely prone to gaining weight at the slightest provocation. I get the burgers and fries and yes, I supersize. All the time.

Yet my weight is fine and my health is top notch according to my doctor. Not everyone reacts the same way to every type of food. I certainly know better than to eat it every single day for a month even once, let alone three times a day.

I too blame more the on the go attitude that leads to snacking, decreased 'actual' activity caused by more desk jobs and travelling by car rather than walking.

We were talking recently at work about grocery shopping. One of the girls can't cook to save her life, spends about $40 a week on groceries for herself and her BF - they eat microwave meals for lunch and dinner and cereal for breakfast. She was amazed that we spend over $100 on groceries. But we buy fresh meat and veggies and prefer to buy from a local store that doesn't prepackage things - the stuff is fresher and lasts longer and tastes better. We also eat out once or twice a week (although at restaurants not fast food places usually)

i can't imagine eating at my favourite restaurant every day, let alone 2-3 times a day every day, and my favourite restaurant has a good 20 meals to choose from, so I also agree that supersize me is inherently flawed - you do that - its not nutritionally balanced and is bad for your health.

I agree that everyone's metabolism is different. I'm 5'7" and 136 lb.s (I'm trying to loose some, actually) and the way I eat is radically different from the way my s/o eats. He has basically cut carbohydrates out of his diet, I MUST have carbs to survive.

Having said that... I also agree that what you eat is totally your choice. What McDonalds includes in their food is scary.

Saw the movie and confirmed my opinion of fast food in general and McDonalds in particular. I don't think I've eaten in one of them for at least 15 years and probably won't do so in the future.

I do eat out at lunch, but try to hit the salad bars. At home it's always a home cooked meal from scratch. I don't know how to cook with convenience foods - the few times I've tried I didn't like the results. I'm somewhat of a creative person and I view cooking as an outlet for that creativity.

lionsrampant - I didn't mean that the FDA take away fast food, more or less order these FF places to make them healther. I remember making excuses in college that french fries were healthy just because they were pototaoes...never mind if they were cooked in any type of oil (vegatable or other) and doused with salt. I'm thinking more keep these places going, but tell them to rid the supersize option or adding 3 days worth of Daily values in one meal.

Really like look at other countries. I was in England a few years ago and I never remembered seeing so many FF joints from my prior visit. There were Burger Kings, McDonalds, etc on all the busy area of London...all the way to a small town in Wales. Plus you read the newspapers and the issues with obesity are noted.

Vibiana - I do know what you're talking about though. I would be ecstatic when I came home and my at-the-time-non-working-BF would make dinner. Now with him working again though I look forward to trying to figure out dinner (which tonight was oh-so-yummy Costco Sushi). I work around it somedays though by using a slow cooker. Dinner is ready by the time I get home from work

The fast food industry isn't forcing people to eat their food at gunpoint. It is ridiculous, to expect the FDA to regulate anything other than the safety and cleanliness of these these places. Since when is it the government's job to be nannies and nutritional counselors, to us?

People have to take responsibility for themselves and quit trying to find a scapegoat for all of their problems.

According to the weight/height tables, I'm not overweight. At 5' 6 1/2", large-boned and weighing around 150, I'm within normal limits. Granted, I have a few areas that could stand some firming up.

If you're grossly overweight and its not due to a metabolic disorder, there is ONE solution: DON'T EAT SO MUCH AND EXERCISE!

My dad is 79 years old and has been retired from the USMC, since 1969. His uniforms still fit. He eats well, works and walks four dogs on a regular basis.

the salads at mcdonalds are a joke. When i worked in an office, one gal was berattting a woman she had seen at mcdonalds on her lunch break, who had bought all her kids burgers and fries from the dollar menu. and Oh why didnt she gets a salad for them lati. I pointed out that if they didnt charge 5bucks for a simple, and not healthy salad, maybe the mother. whos circumstances we do not know..would have. but i can tell you most people..working class will fill the kids up with the cheaper op. so maybe they should make the healthier op..more affordable.

Unfortunately, I don't think the premise of the movie was as unrealistic as some seem to think. No, most people don't eat McDonalds all three meals a day. However, a lot of people DO eat what I would call junk food three meals a day. For breakfast, they have cereal coated in enough sugar to make a soda blush. For lunch, they have fast food of some kind. For dinner, they have a frozen dinner heavy in fat and salt. For snacks, they have bagged chips, sodas, candy, etc. There are LOTS of people who eat that way. Fruit? I had a grape-flavored soda, does that count? Vegetables? Ketchup is made from tomato sauce, so that counts, right? (of course, a tomato is also a fruit . . . but you get my point).

I had to educate my husband on a lot of this stuff. He grew up very poor (VERY) and I seriously had to explain to him that fizzy fruit-juice-type drinks do NOT count as a serving of fruit. There are a lot of people that, despite the fact that supposedly "everyone knows" what is and isn't healthy, don't know anything of the sort! I think we need better nutrition courses in school, frankly. How many people don't realize that corn and potatoes are both high in starch, and so they eat that and think "yay, I got my vegetable serving". Um, no, you didn't. You may as well have just eaten bread. You should have had something green, possibly leafy.

"Since when is it the government's job to be nannies and nutritional counselors, to us?"

Apparently since 1894 when W.O. Atwater, the first director of the Office of Experiment Stations in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published tables of food composition and dietary standards for the U.S. population.

From the history of USDA Food Guides 1916-1980

He was a proponent of variety, balance and moderation.

ETA: the first food guides featuring the food groups as we know them weren't published by the USDA until 1916

I totally agree with that. If I had a bunch of human mouths to feed, I would opt for the cheaper and let it be a bonus if its healthy foods.

Theres certainly a health and obesity epidemic springing up in the western world. I have taken numerous university courses in nutrition. Im going to point out bluntly what many people have sort of insinuated. (It is my opinion that) lack of exercise is a bigger problem than poor nutrition. Certainly the two together are the full picture, but I think very very few people realize how sedentary we actually are. Being fat and fit (YES, very very possible) can almost eliminate the health risks of obesity. In any case, if calories in > calories out, you will gain weight.
In terms of the food thing, not only are poor food choices a problem, portion sizes are a huge issue. Sure you can have a nice home cooked meal, but if you eat enough for 2, youre making as big a mistake as someone ordering a supersize meal. Lots of home cooked things can be worse than fast food. The Joy of Cooking (super super popular cookbook) eggs benedict has a serving value (per english muffin, so 2 eggs, 1 muffin) of over 1000 calories, a Big Mac? 576....
General moderation and good exercise (30 mins a day) imo could stop the obesity epidemic. We as a society are just too lazy, physically and nutritionally, to really do anything about it.

These are informational guidelines, NOT regulations.

Yup I know when I baby sat I was often given 10 bucks or what not and said "fast food is fine" I wish we could get healthier op for more reasonable prices..but it doesnt happen..so happy meals it was

The occasional fast-food meal is fine. Face it, most of us are busy people and don't always have time for a sit-down meal of "real food".

Common sense (oops - foreign concept) dictates that ANYTHING, taken to excess is bad for you. When my kids were growing up, we ordered pizza on Friday nights. After a hard week, at work I needed the break. Nowadays, the grandkids know that Grandma always has two Hershey's kisses in her pocket. A little treat, now and then, is a good thing.