supersize me: mcdonalds experiment

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probably late watching this but im watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqqiWhXAFE&feature=related

at the minute.

really opens your eyes to obesity and mcdonlds!! unhealthy!!
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  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    is it 2004 again?
  • FitspoEm
    FitspoEm Posts: 95 Member
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    probably i duno when it was done this is the first time ive watched it!
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
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    is it 2004 again?

    The awkward moment you realize you are old because the poster was too young at the time to get your reference.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Keep track of how many CALORIES the guy decided to consume. Also note his knack for choosing the highest calorie and most unhealthy thing on the menu EVERY time.

    It's pretty much the same science as saying the world will be in eternal darkness because the sun went down.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    probably late watching this but im watching

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqqiWhXAFE&feature=related

    at the minute.

    really opens your eyes to obesity and mcdonlds!! unhealthy!!

    I know it's nuts, eat in a surplus and you get fat. Totally eye opening

    Just like Fathead, eat in a deficit and lose weight, mind blowing film making
  • FluffyNoMore26
    FluffyNoMore26 Posts: 92 Member
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    I saw this when it first came out but am re-wathcing it with my husband for a class project he is doing. Even the second time watching is an eye opener. I think I told myself NO MORE FAST FOOD when I first saw it and again last night the Hubster and I were both saying NO MORE FAST FOOD it will KILL US!!! Alas we cannot escape fast food but we can make better choices now then what we could then. They have much better salad options and as long as you don't supersize everything then every once in a while is not so bad. Just not more than maybe once or twice a month :)
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
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    probably late watching this but im watching

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqqiWhXAFE&feature=related

    at the minute.

    really opens your eyes to obesity and mcdonlds!! unhealthy!!

    I know it's nuts, eat in a surplus and you get fat. Totally eye opening

    Just like Fathead, eat in a deficit and lose weight, mind blowing film making
    lol! Har har. I think she means that compared to homemade food of the same type they are high in calories you know? I loveeee Fathead a lot!!!!
  • FluffyNoMore26
    FluffyNoMore26 Posts: 92 Member
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    Keep track of how many CALORIES the guy decided to consume. Also note his knack for choosing the highest calorie and most unhealthy thing on the menu EVERY time.

    It's pretty much the same science as saying the world will be in eternal darkness because the sun went down.


    The movie is supposed to show how the marketing of fast food and our choices for eating it as often as we do has led to an epedimic in the United States. Yes it focuses more on McDonalds and the unhealthy things they serve but it is because that is what they used to soley promote and Mcdonalds used to make up 40% of the Fast food industry. It is a message about where corporate responsibility and self reliance meet. Shouldn't people be able to make healthier choices on their own? For the most of us we think yes but for someone who was raised in that environment and doesn't know how bad the food is for you, you would probably never think of the calories in Chicken nuggets. Which by the way are mostly filler chemicals hardly any chicken. (At least back then) Now there is much more nutritional information available and more awareness on how unhealthy fast food really is.
  • BogQueen1
    BogQueen1 Posts: 320 Member
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    I felt this was a little unfair to McDonald's. I mean it did motivate them to get rid of their super size fries on their menu. But honestly the guy was a vegetarian (vegan?) before, and suddenly switched to a fully processed, meat laden diet. On the other side of this coin was the guy who ate a Big Mac every single day of his life, was thin as a rail, and had normal blood work.

    This kind of indicated to me that maybe it wasn't the burger that was the problem it was the greasy fries and large coke (can you say sugar dump?). McDonald's from this bad publicity, also seems to have made strides towards improving their menu healthwise, with salads, smoothies, fruit, oatmeal, and the eternal champ, the egg mcmuffin. So the health concious consumer CAN incorporate the occasional trip to McDonald's into their normal eating routine.

    But anyone who rely's on McD's for the majority of their daily intake is just asking for trouble, because a I seem to have discovered last week, eating a diet solely of take out just flat out stalls weight loss. Even if you are under your macros for the day. Not sure if the calories are under reported, there's just that much 'swing' in the times due to differences in preparation, or what.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    The movie is supposed to show how the marketing of fast food and our choices for eating it as often as we do has led to an epedimic in the United States. Yes it focuses more on McDonalds and the unhealthy things they serve but it is because that is what they used to soley promote and Mcdonalds used to make up 40% of the Fast food industry. It is a message about where corporate responsibility and self reliance meet. Shouldn't people be able to make healthier choices on their own? For the most of us we think yes but for someone who was raised in that environment and doesn't know how bad the food is for you, you would probably never think of the calories in Chicken nuggets. Which by the way are mostly filler chemicals hardly any chicken. (At least back then) Now there is much more nutritional information available and more awareness on how unhealthy fast food really is.

    The movie is not about marketing at all. If it was, he'd not be eating it and instead discussing the psychology behind marketing and business.

    The idea of "how bad the food is for you" is absolutely absurd. Sure, there is better quality food out there, but fast food is not exactly lead burgers with with cyanide sauce on a radioactive bun. If YOU are simply incapable of looking a huge burger and french fries with a large coke and NOT able to realize that a smaller burger and a salad with water is better for you, that is definitely NOT the fault of McDonalds.

    People such as this guy, and seemingly you, decide instead of taking responsibility for weight gain and health choices, blame EVERYONE else. Yes, it is McDonalds' fault you ate the WORST thing their, you were an innocent food angel before they came along and forced you into the store and forced you to buy the worst thing and then had the staff strap you to a chair and shove the burger down your throat...

    So tragic.. /tear
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    <<<<<<< Eats McD's when she feels like, stays at about 13% BF. Haters gonna hate.

    When this first came out, I thought about making a counter documentary wherein I ate nothing but McD's for a month and didn't gain a pound and if I could get McD's to pay me for it.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    It is a message about where corporate responsibility and self reliance meet. Shouldn't people be able to make healthier choices on their own?

    The problem is worse than that. McDonalds (and all restaurants) serve such unhealthy food because THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WANT. If McDonalds started serving lower calorie healthy foods they'd go out of business in a week, meanwhile all the fat people that blame their problems on fast food would be going to Burger King instead b/c the higher cal food tastes better.
  • FluffyNoMore26
    FluffyNoMore26 Posts: 92 Member
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    The movie is supposed to show how the marketing of fast food and our choices for eating it as often as we do has led to an epedimic in the United States. Yes it focuses more on McDonalds and the unhealthy things they serve but it is because that is what they used to soley promote and Mcdonalds used to make up 40% of the Fast food industry. It is a message about where corporate responsibility and self reliance meet. Shouldn't people be able to make healthier choices on their own? For the most of us we think yes but for someone who was raised in that environment and doesn't know how bad the food is for you, you would probably never think of the calories in Chicken nuggets. Which by the way are mostly filler chemicals hardly any chicken. (At least back then) Now there is much more nutritional information available and more awareness on how unhealthy fast food really is.

    The movie is not about marketing at all. If it was, he'd not be eating it and instead discussing the psychology behind marketing and business.

    The idea of "how bad the food is for you" is absolutely absurd. Sure, there is better quality food out there, but fast food is not exactly lead burgers with with cyanide sauce on a radioactive bun. If YOU are simply incapable of looking a huge burger and french fries with a large coke and NOT able to realize that a smaller burger and a salad with water is better for you, that is definitely NOT the fault of McDonalds.

    People such as this guy, and seemingly you, decide instead of taking responsibility for weight gain and health choices, blame EVERYONE else. Yes, it is McDonalds' fault you ate the WORST thing their, you were an innocent food angel before they came along and forced you into the store and forced you to buy the worst thing and then had the staff strap you to a chair and shove the burger down your throat...

    So tragic.. /tear

    It is not 100% about marketing nor him just eating McDonalds for 30 days. There are alot of true statistics in the movie that prove fast food is a cause of obesity. Have you seen the movie and have you been to a McDonalds before? The marketing budget for Mcdonalds that year was over 1 billion dollars internationally (Movie statistics) For Burger King it was 900(million) and for Hersheys Chocolate it was 200million the Government only spent 2 million promoting healthy eating that year. Also they do market to children just like cigerette complanies used to. Back when the movie was made there was no such thing as milk or apples in a Happy Meal, it was a toy and a burger with fries. The movie even showed kids in schools and the lunches they were served at school so it didn't just pick on Mcdonalds. I never said I was a food angel. Yeah I know I over eat when I eat fast food that is why I try to avoid it whenever I can. The point of the movie was to bring awareness to how American diets have changed. 50 years ago eating out was done on special occasions most meals were cooked at home. Now days the average American eats out more than twice a week. Watch the movie again before you try to say it was just him picking on Mc Donalds. Again he referenced them the most because at the time they were 40% of the fast food industry.

    Also don't try to pick on me either for stating my opinion about the movie. This is just what I took away from it and it brought alot of information to light for me and possibly millions of other Americans.
  • FluffyNoMore26
    FluffyNoMore26 Posts: 92 Member
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    It is a message about where corporate responsibility and self reliance meet. Shouldn't people be able to make healthier choices on their own?

    The problem is worse than that. McDonalds (and all restaurants) serve such unhealthy food because THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WANT. If McDonalds started serving lower calorie healthy foods they'd go out of business in a week, meanwhile all the fat people that blame their problems on fast food would be going to Burger King instead b/c the higher cal food tastes better.

    I completely agree with you! It is more than just McDonalds changing it is America changing too. In the movie they refer back to cigerette smoking quite a bit. It used to be socially acceptable to smoke all the time. Just like eating fast food has become socially acceptable to do all the time. Americans have changed their opinion on cigerettes . Who knows the next opinion change might be fast food.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    <<<<<<< Eats McD's when she feels like, stays at about 13% BF. Haters gonna hate.

    When this first came out, I thought about making a counter documentary wherein I ate nothing but McD's for a month and didn't gain a pound and if I could get McD's to pay me for it.


    ^^We could totally do this!
    Should we have to eat every item on the menu at least twice? I for one can barely finish a small bag of fries unless I'm hungry.
    Big mac? Haven't had one since 1st grade. Actually, it was my first and last.

    No one is pulling you in there by the collar, pulling $$ out of your pocket, and stuffing a super sized meal down your throat.

    No one is forcing you to over-book your schedule with each kid in 3 activities and an hour commute not giving yourself time to cook and serve a healthy meal. (really, it is possible with a pre-planning event on sunday)

    No one is forcing you to give into your child's demands, And really, there is no harm in the occasional cheeseburger, milk and apple slices or even a small order of fries. Let them work it off in the play ground.

    McD's is making money because there is a market for it. There are options, people just don't choose wisely, often enough.

    People no longer treat McD's as an occasional "treat" but a regular source of food.

    Shame on people who sluff personal responsibility onto corporations because they don't want to acknowledge their lack of self control and poor parenting.

    Do all parents always buy their kids the latest and greatest toy because it's advertised? No.
    Do all parents always buy their kids the hottest new cereal on the shelf? No.

    Parents who give into their kid's demands have a whole different problem than just a constant barrage of fast food they throw at their kids because A; they give in or B; they refuse to find time for a good meal.

    If you're just now figuring out that fast food shouldn't be eaten outside of an occasional treat, you need to educate yourself further on the food industry. Has no one notice that the unhealthiest of cereals are at a kid's eye level. The lower to the ground the more colorful, because color is what attracts 3-4 year olds? That the bags of candy are typically low to the ground. marshmallows? marshmallow cream? Even yogurt is strategically placed. Is anyone going after the grocery store industry?
    Juicy juice? Look at where it's placed. Halloween Candy? Look at what is at all of the end caps of the grocery store between 4-5 ft high as apposed to what is 5 ft +. I would average that 60% of every edible item in a grocery store isn't good for you. That if you go by Item by item of groups... It would be even higher outside of raw products such as beans, rice, pastas, that sort. forzen veggies will have higher rate of health, but the majority of the frozen food items are really NOT good for you.
    Look at how much plain yogurt there is as apposed to "added fruite = sugars" The grocery store is even more luring than any fast food because that is where your main food source should come from. Halloween candy is up by the end of Sept., Christmas candy goes up Nov 1st, V'day candy January 1st, a short lull for easter and then it's all sorts of summery stuff of ice cream, boxed freezer pops, sundae toppings, "fruit" by the foot and all that fun stuff. Soda is stacked the minute you walk in the grocery store from the time warm weather starts until fall.

    But hey! Lets blame Ronald!
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    I wonder if McDonalds would sponsor me to do a reverse of this, where I ate all my food for a month from mcdonalds and ended up just fine...
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    It is not 100% about marketing nor him just eating McDonalds for 30 days. There are alot of true statistics in the movie that prove fast food is a cause of obesity. Have you seen the movie and have you been to a McDonalds before? The marketing budget for Mcdonalds that year was over 1 billion dollars internationally (Movie statistics) For Burger King it was 900(million) and for Hersheys Chocolate it was 200million the Government only spent 2 million promoting healthy eating that year. Also they do market to children just like cigerette complanies used to. Back when the movie was made there was no such thing as milk or apples in a Happy Meal, it was a toy and a burger with fries. The movie even showed kids in schools and the lunches they were served at school so it didn't just pick on Mcdonalds. I never said I was a food angel. Yeah I know I over eat when I eat fast food that is why I try to avoid it whenever I can. The point of the movie was to bring awareness to how American diets have changed. 50 years ago eating out was done on special occasions most meals were cooked at home. Now days the average American eats out more than twice a week. Watch the movie again before you try to say it was just him picking on Mc Donalds. Again he referenced them the most because at the time they were 40% of the fast food industry.

    Also don't try to pick on me either for stating my opinion about the movie. This is just what I took away from it and it brought alot of information to light for me and possibly millions of other Americans.

    Small marketing budget relatively speaking. ESPECIALLY internationally. Remarkably small really.

    Studies show eating excessive calories cause obesity, not fast food specifically. Again, this is an attempt to place blame solely at the feet of another and absolve yourself of ALL responsibility for ones own actions. Yeah, it's the hamburger and side salad at McDonalds that makes people obese, not the fact they swallow bon bons like a whale eats krill. Definitely the McDonalds.

    I derail anyone who decides to place blame on others for their weight, who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, and who throw around absolutely the most ridiculous pseudoscience as proof they are right.

    You are surely granted your own opinions, I give you that. You are not however, granted your own facts.

    If every time you enter McDonalds, you simply are compelled (I dunno, maybe the cashier holds a gun to your head?) to eat the absolutely WORST thing humanly imaginable on the menu, then perhaps you should avoid it. If you have control over your own body, then go ahead and get a Hamburger with a side salad and a cup of water.

    I do apologize if I come off as rude, mean, condescending, etc. I just get all riled up when people blame fast food for all their weight problems... its as though everyone thinks fat people didn't exist before McDonalds... I highly doubt King Henry VIII got his size cruising through the drive through lane in his royal carriage. >.>
  • sarahisme18
    sarahisme18 Posts: 574 Member
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    If you eat ANYTHING in huge portions, 3-times a day, for months..... same thing will happen. It's not a McDonald's problem.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I wonder if McDonalds would sponsor me to do a reverse of this, where I ate all my food for a month from mcdonalds and ended up just fine...

    Copy cat.
  • maxonehiphop
    maxonehiphop Posts: 139 Member
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    I think someone should do a documentary where all they eat is mcdonald's food, stay within their calorie limits and work out on a regular basis. That would be a documentary I'd enjoy watching with other people that keep trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't eat.

    EDIT:

    I'm a copy cat too apparently. I didn't get that far into the thread before I replied with my genius idea.