Buy Walking VideosSupersize Me Rebuttal
Once again proving that obesity and poor nutrition are not the same problem, Tech Central Station interviews two people who ate McDonald’s food every day and still lost weight.
This article is a rebuttal to the entertaining, but scientifically flawed “Supersize Me.” I finally saw that movie a few weeks ago and I’m so glad that I don’t have to eat McDonald’s food every meal of every day for 30 days just to prove that I could lose weight. Two other people did it for me.
Of course, nutritionally, McDonald’s food did not provide them with some nutrients and oversupplied them with saturated fat and sodium. That is poor nutrition, however, not obesity. If Murlock removed all references to obesity in his movie, it wouldn’t be nearly as compelling.
Via: Fitness News
Previous: Life Expectancy
Next: Mini-Meals: The Two-Edged Sword
March 23rd, 2005 at 9:55 pm
Scientifically flawed . . . maybe, execpt that Spurlock doesn’t really do any science, but merely eats a lot, gains weight, and feels terrible. Effective: hell yes! (And not just for me, the vegetarian of 10 years, but for many of my carnivorous fast-food loving friends, who now eschew Mickie D’s for Subway.)
Here’s what I’d like to see:
Supersize Me 2: Spinach Salad Strikes Back!
March 24th, 2005 at 8:27 am
The biggest problem that I have with Supersize Me is that ANY major change in diet is going to cause stomach upset, nauseau and a feeling of malaise. When I first started Weight Watchers, I had very similar symptoms from all the additional fiber in my diet.
I ended up having to ease my way into a healthier diet. If Murlock had “eased” into the McDiet, he would have had less gastrointestinal effects. Supersize Me! is the antithesis of moderation.
Let’s be clear. I don’t think anyone should eat at McDonald’s every meal of every day. It just bothers me that he went so over the top. The movie is very entertaining, but it is scientifically flawed, which gives the fast food manufacturers a way to punch holes in his story.
March 24th, 2005 at 8:50 am
I dig, and agree. Such is the way of movie making . . . 🙂
March 26th, 2005 at 8:08 pm
I just saw this movie last night. The DVD has bonus materials that caught my eye. Specifically the “scientific” mold test he did on fries and a burger from a restaraunt that actually makes their stuff fresh.. then he took the sandwiches and fries from McD’s and put them all in a jar to promote mold growth… the real burger & fries molded in about a week… the McD’s fries didn’t mold after 10 weeks.. the burgers were alient planets all by themselves by that time.. but it took a while.
Point is. What are you actually eating when you eat their fries? I wouldn’t even want to know. I’m sure all of us have performed a variation of this experiment w/out even knowing it… you clean out your car and discover some fries that missed your mouth that have fallen under your seat … God only knows how long it’s been there.. but looks as perfect as the day it was purchased. NO biological breakdown or mold at all… makes ya wonder what you’re really eating.
I, for one, will never eat fast food again.
April 12th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
If you read the “about” tab on the Tech Central Station website, you’ll see that one of their sponsors is McDonalds. I wonder…
April 12th, 2005 at 3:24 pm
Wow! Good catch. I usually notice those things, but that About TCS is so small at the bottom, I didn’t even see it.
The point remains the same, however. There are no “good” foods and “bad” foods. That kind of thinking leads to unhealthy eating behaviors like bingeing.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
America has come to such a sad country… everyone knows that there is nothing at all nutritional about McDonalds and here you are stuffing your face with it and saying that of course if you eat that much junk food you will gain weight but guess what?Do you think this would have happend if he would have eaten chinese food for a month?Yes, chinese food is greasy but nothing compares to what happend here…and sure his body may be different and there might be different results if it were someone else…FACE REALITY!After I watched that fries experiment I haven’t eaten fast food in 6 months!Eat regular food and lose weight…it’s that simple.Yes of course you could “ease” into a McDiet, but he ate healthy and this happend if this were an average american they would have eased by now.Does that settle it for you?
January 27th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Here we are 3 years later and I saw today that Mcdonalds is planning to open 1000 stores this year. I guess not enough people watched this movie!
January 14th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
The reason the McDonald’s fries did not go bad is a simple matter of moisture and salt. Thin fries are rather dry and have a lot of salted surface. The other fries he tested were extra thick cut with lots of water in them. If you watch the video, you will notice that the food that went bad had condensation in the glass jars, while the food that didn’t was dry.
January 22nd, 2011 at 8:45 am
The main flaw I found in Morgan Spurlock’s experiment (to correct the misspelling of his name on this page) is that he cut his exercise way down by taking a taxi everywhere instead of walking like he normally does. This became a “What I eat only McDonald’s food AND NOT EXERCISE for 30 days” experiment. He shouldn’t have changed his exercise habits one bit during his experiment.
BTW, it’s inactivity, not obesity, that leads to heart disease.