UrbanWire

Produced, Directed and Starring:
Morgan Spurlock

Synopsis:

In Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock unravels the American obesity epidemic by interviewing experts nationwide and by subjecting himself to a "McDonald’s only" diet for thirty days straight. His Sundance award-winning feature is as entertaining as it horrifying as it dives into corporate responsibility, nutritional education, school lunch programs and how Americans as a nation are eating themselves to death.

Love it or hate it, fast food is here to stay: immediate, accessible, cheap and satisfying, it fills a need in contemporary, mobile lifestyles. But at what real cost?

Shocked by rapidly non-ebbing trends in juvenile and adult obesity filmmaker Morgan Spurlock examines what America is eating and whether or not it is eating America back in his new documentary film.

Approximately 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and two out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it a matter of lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame?

Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the “Fattest City” in America (now Detroit). From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and “gut feelings” on our ever-expanding girth. And finally, Spurlock embarked on a most unique experiment in which he personally documents the effects of a fast food diet … on himself.

Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, and Fries become Spurlock’s diet for 30 days straight as he subsists exclusively on items from the McDonald’s menu—with four simple rules:

1 - No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2 - No super-sizing unless offered
3 - No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once
4 - No giving up: he had to eat three squares a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And eat he did. As his intake of fried and sodium-rich foods increased, so too did his cholesterol and sodium levels and what began as a fun and light-hearted experiment gradually turned into serious concern for the above average healthy Spurlock’s well-being—all despite the protests of his live-in girlfriend: a vegan chef.

It all adds up to a fat food bill, harrowing visits to the doctor, and compelling viewing for anyone who’s ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone.

Spurlock’s month-long fast food frenzy across the nation is documented along with eye-opening and candid interviews with top medical and health professionals, advertising and marketing executives and America’s youth – numerous fast food-eating American youth. The results are, to say the least, astounding.

Furthermore, the film explores the horror of school lunch programs, declining health and physical education classes, food addictions and the extreme measures people take to lose weight and regain their health.

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