Obesity in America: “Super Size Me” Essay

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Introduction

“Super Size Me” is a movie directed by Morgan Spurlock addressing the obesity epidemic that American faces. The movie is a documentary on an experiment conducted on filmmaker Spurlock by himself so as to reveal the effects of eating fast foods. The inspiration for the movie was a number of legal suits that had been brought against the fast-food giant McDonalds. In the suit, the food giant was accused of selling unhealthy foods to the population with dire health consequences for the plaintiffs.

Spurlock sets out on an all McDonald diet for a whole month so as to demonstrate the effects of fast foods. He purposes to eat his thee meals each day from the McDonald menu with no outside food sources. To begin with, Spurlock has his health checked by three medical specialists: a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and a GP. The tests confirm that his fitness is well above that of the average person. In addition to this, Spurlock has a dietician monitoring his progress as he conducts his fast-food experiment.

As the days progress, Spurlock’s weight increases dramatically and his health deteriorates. The movie makes it very clear that these changes are a result of his eating habits. In the cause of the experiment, Spurlock engages a number of professionals who discuss the effect of fast foods. The interviews with these professionals also aim to find out why fast foods are slowly becoming the number one food served to school-going children. The movie concludes by authoritatively stating that fast foods are hazardous to the health of the consumer.

Main Body

What impressed me most about “Supersize Me” is the movie’s use of facts to make its point. While the movie is centered on Spurlock’s attempt to live off fast foods for an entire month, it makes use of authorities on the subject. The movie contained a lot of scientific information that had an even greater impact as a result of the physical evidence that Spurlock’s experiment presented. Obesity has been on a steady increase in the US resulting in a decline in health since people who are obese are at increased risk of physical as well as psychosocial health consequences.

The movie is laced with statistics and interviews from experts in the health industry therefore reinforcing the message that the movie is trying to make. The results from Spurlock’s test are enough to jolt any person into taking a closer look at their eating habits. The ignorance exhibited by most people is also highlighted through interviews with people who turn out to be clueless as to concepts such as calorie intake and a balanced diet.

The reason why the informative nature of the movie impressed me the most is that obesity is an epidemic that has afflicted America. Over the past few years, research indicates that the prevalence rate of obesity has actually increased. This movie addresses this issue by highlighting the fact that while obesity can be a result of different reasons, the condition is mostly limited to people who overindulge in unhealthy food and exhibit limited activity.

The movie reveals that in addition to the physical effects, unhealthy eating also causes psychological distresses such as stress and depression. The movie also takes a wider look at the subject and highlights the lack of government involvement in mitigating the dietary crisis that Americans face. The movie’s emphasis on taking personal responsibility is evident from Spurlock who ridicules individuals who make lawsuits against McDonald’s for their overweight issues.

Without a doubt, the movie “Super Size Me” by Morgan Spurlock had a profound impact on me. While I have previously heard information suggesting that fast foods are detrimental to a person’s health, I always ignored these messages. To me, fast foods were an integral part of my life. After watching the movie, I have come to a greater understanding of the effects of fast foods on my general health.

From Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, I witnessed how fast foods could transform a healthy person into an unhealthy person in a matter of weeks. While I acknowledge that Spurlock’s diet is extreme in nature and that no one in their right mind would indulge in it, Spurlock uses the extremes to highlight the point that fast foods are dangerous. I am now keener as to the foods I consume and try to stay away from fast foods whenever possible.

Conclusion

The movie “Super Size Me” is arguably one of the most thought-provoking movies that I have ever watched. The movie addresses a topic that is of great importance to the people and sensitizes everyone on the dangers of unhealthy eating. I found this movie not only entertaining but also very informative and empowering. In my opinion, the movie’s ability to use humor to pass on a very serious message further increased the impact of the movie on the audience. It is my sincere hope that every other person who watched the movie was deeply impacted by its message and is making positive changes in their eating habits just as I am.

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IvyPanda. (2021, January 25). Obesity in America: "Super Size Me". https://ivypanda.com/essays/super-size-me-documentary-by-morgan-spurlock-essay/

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"Obesity in America: "Super Size Me"." IvyPanda, 25 Jan. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/super-size-me-documentary-by-morgan-spurlock-essay/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) 'Obesity in America: "Super Size Me"'. 25 January.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "Obesity in America: "Super Size Me"." January 25, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/super-size-me-documentary-by-morgan-spurlock-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "Obesity in America: "Super Size Me"." January 25, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/super-size-me-documentary-by-morgan-spurlock-essay/.


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IvyPanda. "Obesity in America: "Super Size Me"." January 25, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/super-size-me-documentary-by-morgan-spurlock-essay/.

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