Super Size Me, the Documentary

[Broken_Hero]

is on MSNBC, and I've never seen it until tonight, its only a half hour in. So far, its rather interesting...what are your thoughts on this documentary? Go ahead and put in spoilers, but what do you guys/gals think of this?

[LiberalHeart]

1. I thought the guy was nuts to keep putting his health at risk.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. Sweet!

It even has Wesley Willis on the soundtrack.

[Broken_Hero]

3. Holy smokes...

17lbs gained, in two weeks of consumption....damn.

[Broken_Hero]

4. He is now hammering the crap out of

the school cafeteria systems...I agree with his thought on that aspect, big time.

[Broken_Hero]

5. I don't understand this

there was only one state which had required PE classes, for its high school, according to the doc...in high school from 91-95, I had one class of PE/Health classes...

On edit:to fix my mistake, it was one credit, not two...

[Broken_Hero]

6. Just one credit for the State of Alaska...I was wrong in my

in my post above, I had one credit...half a year in Swimming, the other half in health class...


http://www.touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/AAC/Title04/Chapter006/Section075.htm

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. When I was in HS, in 1997-2001...

we had to take gym every year. It was for 3/4 of the year. One quarter was "health class." If you failed a year of gym somehow, you had to take two gym classes the next year. Some kids even had summer school for gym. It didn't count towards the GPA, but it was something we had to pass. This was in NJ. I don't know if it's actual law or just the district's policy.

BTW, my sister graduated from there last year and it was still the same.

[Broken_Hero]

8. I was wrong in my above post, I edited it...

I took that first credit my freshman year, two quarters of swimming, and then two quarters of health class....in junior high, I took PE/Gym two years, both 7th/8th grade, plus a quarter of Health class my 8th grade year....

Another thing I notice in this doc, and in the schools in my district is the vending machines....

Story time...

When I was a young kid, in the early-mid 80's, I came to class with a Sunkist soda...the teacher saw me put the soda in my tub tray, and jumped my ass abou t it...she sent me to the principals office, and I got berated for bringing a CAN of soda to school...the Principal, then called my mother, and then my mother was pissed, because I stole her Sunkist....

I have countless stories/examples of myself, and other kids getting in trouble for chewing gum, eating candy, damn...even drinking HI-C for pete's sake!

I'm a sub teacher in my county, and they have a ton of vending machines...damn, the junior high/high school has a designated snack time in the afternoon...to go to their locker/vending machine to get a snack. I couldn't believe it, when I first subbed for the 7th grade Ag teacher here, the students told me about the snack time rule, and I had to confer with another teacher about that, and it was a "fact." I just couldn't believe it...

Its worse at the high school...soda, candy, chips...everything a kid doesn't really need...its mind boggling, and its not like I'm that old...its like a complete flip flop, from when I was in school, to how it is nowadays...

In my high school years, we had vending machines, but the sugariest thing was a pint of OJ....

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. There was recently a New York Times commentary by a guest writer

wondering why kids these days seemed to need snacks all the time.

A snack break in the middle of the afternoon for secondary school? That's ridiculous.

When I went to grade school back in the olden days, we had no snacks in school unless someone had a birthday and brought treats. The exception was that the first graders and kindergartners got a graham cracker with their morning milk. The upper grades just got plain milk.

[Lyric]

24. I would have liked PE a lot better if

we didn't have to shower in "open showers". Forcing a chubby, self-conscious teenage girl to get naked in front of all of the goddamned "Barbies" was just beyond cruel. The inhumane shower situation was 99% of the reason I skipped gym whenever possible.

[jmm]

11. To graduate at my high school in MA

we needed six semesters of gym including a one semester health class. My senior year (I graduated in 98) after I had completed the requirement the state end that rule. This happened right around the same time they started to let a fast food company serve school lunch once a week.

[Broken_Hero]

26. I think that

having the fast food in the high schools/elementary is utterly insane...when I first went to college, was the first time I saw fast food chains, in cafeterias...I went to Kansas State for a two day class, and I was surprised at how many vendors were there....

Now, those same vendors are at the high schools...at our high school(here in sw missouri), we have no fast food vendors serving...the cafeteria still serves the depressing food, but the vending machines are full of candy/sugar, and soda of all sorts....oh, and Ice cream vending machines, one at the HS, one at the Junior High....

Another note of interest...the cafeteria food that the schools served, where from the Fed/State governments, and were high in carbs/sugar/fat....and those foods weren't much better than what the kids were getting from the vending machines/vendors...I thought it was interesting, because the commodity foods that American Indians get from the Fed govt are the exact same thing, which is one of the major reasons, why diabetes is rampant among the American Indian population...they are making changes in that commode situation, but small changes....

on edit:to clarify, spelling....

[usaftmo]

9. I wish he wasn't the guinea pig in this.

Before starting this quest, he only ate vegetables. Therefore, even if he ate fast food once or twice a week it would mess him up a bit. I think a more appropriate guinea pig would be someone who has eaten fast food for several years (once or twice a week...not a majority of the time).

To me, that's why his "before" physical condition is too high an expectation for your average person.

After watching this documentary it didn't stop me from eating fast food. Just to eat it less often, avoid the larger sizes, and when I have the willpower drink water instead of soda.

[BarenakedLady]

17. His girlfriend is the vegan

He wasn't and still isn't.

[usaftmo]

18. You're right! Sorry for the mix-up.

Can you tell I've only seen it once? Trying to jog my memory here...(smoke coming out of ears). His wife is a vegan chef, although he's not a vegan he does have a very well balanced diet, and after the documentary his diet has gotten worse.

Did that make-up for sticking my foot in my mouth? Thank's for clearing that up for me.

[BarenakedLady]

19. No problemo (nt)

[cleveramerican]

10. 48 teaspoons of sugar in a big gulp!

Thats the one that made me go WOW!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. Yes, the dietician determined that he was eating the equivalent of

ONE POUND of sugar per day. No wonder he messed up his body.

[Kerrytravelers]

12. We loved it. he has a great sense of humor and the presentation is interesting.

We're pretty healthy eaters, but still have the occasional fast food. But very occassional... and it's very clear why after seeing this!

[flvegan]

13. If I were a porno director...this is the movie I'd rip off.

I loved it, too.

[Catshrink]

14. It was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen

and I'll definitely think twice before I choose fast food again. Even though I love McD's fries and the jalapeño poppers at Arby's.

A pound of sugar a day! No wonder the guy got sick.

[cwydro]

15. I watched it the other night

Quite an eye-opener. Not a MacDonalds fan anyway, but wow.

[BarenakedLady]

16. I liked it

None of it surprised me too much though.

[Skittles]

20. stupid

if I ate nothing but eggs every day I bet I'd eventually get sick but would that be the fault of the eggs or the chickens? McDonald's is upfront about their nutritional info and has never suggested a person eat there three times a day every f***ing day.

[Yavin4]

21. Just The Opposite. It Was Genius

He was inspired by the aborted class action lawsuit against McD's. His point was that fast food is cheap and readily available, and that plenty of kids do indeed eat this stuff every day. Also, McD's is not being 100% honest about the harmful effects of their food.

There are severe restrictions on selling alcohol and tobbaco to minors, and there should be similar restrictions on fast food or at the very least there should be healthier alternatives, esp. in schools.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

22. Yea. . . Nevermind, I'm not gonna touch this one.

[Skittles]

27. yes

I know what you mean

[Critters2]

25. But McDonald's isn't all that upfront with info

One of my favorite parts was when he's trying to find nutrition info brochures at McDonald's. At one place, they had to bring a chart up from the basement. At another, the pamphlets were hidden behind a cut-out advertisement, of Ronald McD, iirc.

[jobycom]

30. The show wasn't just about McDonalds, and part of what it proved

is that McDonald's is NOT up front about the nutritional info on their products. It also highlighted the lobbying/advertising/promotional campaigns of several mega-corporations who put these food products in front of our kids, and try to block the nutritional information people need to make smart decisions.

It was a very good documentary. IMHO, better than Fahrenheit 9-11.

[Broken_Hero]

23. The one thing, that stood out to me

was after a month of this diet, he gained 24lbs(I belive!)...thats 24lbs in 30 days....so, there goes that myth I heard, where it goes "its just as easy to lose weight/as to gain" as in the amount of time it takes to gain/lose weight.

I've fallen into that trap myself, a ton of times...I'm a rather big man, and I can honestly say, I got 99.9% of my obesity from fast food...and I always noticed, that when I did fall off my diet/exercise even for a couple of weeks, my immediate weight gain during that time was rather high...

For example...

Xmas time of 05...I stopped dieting/exercising around the 22nd of Dec...I was 338....when I started dieting/exercising again around the 10th of January of 06, I was back up to 353....and yes, I did eat fast food/xmas dinner/chocolate candies...I was surprised that the weight gain could come back so damn quickly....and it reminded me of this guys weight gain...

There were some things I didn't agree with overrall, but the one area where he had me in about 99.9% agreement was how the schools/cafeteria's feed their kids....

[Aristus]

28. After I saw "Super-Size Me", I quit sugared sodas cold. Never touched them again.

I also cut way down on coffee, 'cause I like a lot of sugar in it. Without changing my exercise program a bit, within a few weeks I had noticeably lost weight.

[Fleshdancer]

29. that documentary changed my life

I think I watched most of it with my jaw dropped. From his huge weight gain, to his erectile changes and the shocked doctors who pleaded with him to stop...well it was all enough for me to seriously examine my own eating habits. I'm still blown away at how his liver resembled that of a serious alcoholic after it was all over. When the doctors are freaked out by the results, then you know it's time to take it seriously.

As for me, while I don't always choose the best food at restaurants, I stay away from fast food and sodas are now few and far between.