sigh ...some people do the wierdest things

[Harkoliar]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4078903/

The Real Price of a Big Mac Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock discusses life as a human guinea pig Spurlock, wired to an EKG machine, learns firsthand the human costs of America’s love affair with fast food WEB EXCLUSIVE By Brian Braiker Newsweek Updated: 12:42 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2004Jan. 27 - Sometimes inspiration strikes in the unlikeliest places. After gorging himself on Thanksgiving dinner in 2002, Morgan Spurlock was watching TV with his belt unbuckled and his pants unzipped. On the news was a report about two girls in New York who were suing McDonald’s because, they claimed, the food made them overweight and sick. At one point in the report, recalls Spurlock, a representative for the fast-food chain claimed its food was, in fact, nutritious. It was at that precise moment that Spurlock, who runs his own production company, says “the bells went off.” He decided to make a documentary—his first feature-length film—in which he would, in an attempt to explore why Americans are so fat, eat at McDonald’s three times a day for 30 solid days. advertisement One year thousands of fries and tens of thousands of calories later, Spurlock has an award-winning film in the can. Titled, tongue planted firmly in cheek, “Super Size Me,” his documentary was a surprise hit at Sundance last week, winning Spurlock the Best Director prize in the documentary competition and drawing comparisons to the work of “Bowling for Columbine” auteur Michael Moore. With regular visits to the doctor, interviews with experts on fast food and chats with regular folk on the road, the viewer gets a front-row seat as the formerly fit filmmaker eats everything on the menu, packing on the pounds, and looking—and feeling—worse in each successive frame. McDonald’s’ response? The home of the Happy Meal declined to comment in the film but has released statements saying that its menu offers an array of choices, some healthier than others. Spurlock, 33, spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Brian Braiker about his wild, fattening trip since that moment of tryptophan-induced inspiration. You ate three meals a day at McDonald’s for 30 days for this film. What happened to your body over the course of that month? My body just basically falls apart over the course of this diet. I start to get tired; I start to get headaches; my liver basically starts to fill up with fat because there’s so much fat and sugar in this food. My blood sugar skyrockets, my cholesterol goes up off the charts, my blood pressure becomes completely unmanageable. The doctors were like “You have to stop.” Julie Soefer Want fries with that? Director Morgan Spurlock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You saw more than one doctor? I was seeing three different doctors over the course of this, just so I would really have a fair balance between all the people so nobody could say “oh, it was doctor bias; it was physician bias.” Each of these doctors was doing their own blood tests and each of the blood tests were going to three different labs so there was no way lab error could be an issue. Everything that happens to my body over the course of the film was caused by this diet. And everything that happened to my body was caused by this food that I got at this restaurant. I didn’t eat anything—no gum, no candy, not even a Tic Tac—everything that I put in my mouth came from over the counter at McDonald’s. Even the water. I wouldn’t even drink water from outside, that way there would never be a question that “oh there was probably something in the water somewhere else when he was traveling around.” I only drank bottled water from McDonald’s. How much weight did you put on? I put on about 25 pounds in a month. How did you feel at the end of the month? [Laughs] I felt terrible! I felt so bad because I put on this weight so quickly my knees hurt. I was so depressed. I would eat, and I would feel so good because I would get all that sugar and caffeine and fat and I would feel great. And an hour later I would just crash—I would hit the wall and be angry and depressed and upset. I was a disaster to live with. My girlfriend by the end was like “You have to stop because I’ve had it.” It really affects you in so many ways that I think a lot of people don’t realize, very subtle little things. Over the course of the film you see my transformation, and it’s not pleasant.

note: there is more stuff in the link.. so if your interested just click on the link.

[Bozos of Bones]

People disgust me. Well, some do.
My, my, my.

[Kakero]

Humans are very interesting indeed.

[slicer15]

I see...interesting...and when do they show his film? It'd be interesting to watch, though put you off McDonald's for life I imagine...

[Vaskez]

*sigh* I'm fed up of this stupid debate. Everyone has access to information that tells them what is healthy to eat and what is not. People have no right to sue McDonald's for their own stupidity in eating unhealthily. McDonald's publishes its ingredients and nutritional info AFAIK and they are not required to do more than that. If this continues, soon we will be seeing crap like "WARNING: CONTAINS CALORIES" on food labels.

Everyone knows that to stay in shape you have to burn as many calories as you eat. Simple: consume less calories, do more excercise and stop tyring to blame everyone apart from yourself. Note: this does not apply to people who are overweight due to a medical condition that is out of their control.

[ 02-02-2004, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

I read this....
And Vaskez, it's obvious to most people, but the problem is that in America at least, Land of the Fad Diets, people love junk food and hate effort. They'd rather take a pill than exercise and diet. If there is an offer of an easy way out, there will be people who take it.
It's sad.

[Vaskez]

Yeah I know, and it's up to people what they do but they can't seriously expect to sue McDonald's for supplying unhealthy food. McDonald's has no secrets, everyone knows what they sell and its nutritional value and no one is forcing anyone to eat there.

[ 02-02-2004, 06:54 PM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

[Sythe]

Originally posted by Illumina Drathiran'ar: I read this.... And Vaskez, it's obvious to most people, but the problem is that in America at least, Land of the Fad Diets, people love junk food and hate effort. They'd rather take a pill than exercise and diet. If there is an offer of an easy way out, there will be people who take it. It's sad.

Aye tis true tis true. I bet the fathers of the country never forsaw this!