Super size me

Super Size Me is a documentary, released in 2004, written, directed and produced by Morgan Spurlock, in which he shows the consequences of a McDonald’s based diet during 30 days. He was drawn to dothis experiment after hearing the McDonald’s Corporation defense against a lawsuit filed by two overweight young girls who claimed that their condition was caused solely by eating at their restaurants.This triggered an analysis of the American population and their way of life, based on sedentary routines and a high consume of fast food. The numbers show that the amount of people who eat fast fooddaily is 1 in 4 Americans. There is also a McDonald’s in almost every city. McDonald’s represents 43% of the total U.S. fast food market.

Spurlock’s challenge consisted of eating during an entiremonth in McDonald’s establishments; he had to eat every meal there: breakfast, lunch and dinner. For this, he established some ground rules:
- To completely finish eating every meal.
- To try theentire menu of McDonald’s at least once.
- To choose the option “Super Size” only when it was offered to him.

To complete his experiment, he also reduced his physical activity and eliminated thepossibility of doing exercise at all. According to the movie, an average American walks approximately 5000 steps, which is equal to two and a half miles, more or less. This means that following thisroutine would result in quick noticeable changes in Spurlock’s body and health, as is seen in the movie. He first consulted three different physicians: a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and ageneral practitioner; also a nutritionist and personal trainer. All five of them determined that Spurlock’s health was above average; he weighted 84 kg and was 1.88 cm tall, which represents a BMI (BodyMass Index) of 23.2, a healthy weight. After 30 days, however, he gained 11.1 kg., his body fat suffered a 13% increase and his BMI rose up to 26, which represents overweight. During this time, he also...