Spurlock's Documentary Supersize Me

In 2004 I watched a documentary film that now has made me think twice about eating fast food. Morgan Spurlock had an epiphany one night while hearing about 2 young girls suing McDonalds for their health problems. He then decided to make a documentary on just how unhealthy McDonalds (fast food) is bad for you. I learned the ongoing and fast rate obesity is growing. Diabetes are also playing a key role as well as psychological changes and side affects that can happen.

In the documentary Spurlock goes to show how our nation is becoming morbidly obese and the fast rate it is growing just by fast food in itself. In the United States alone it has reached epidemic proportions. Surprisingly enough obesity is second to smoking when it comes to most preventable cause of death. Makes you think, what's more, the national weight gain over the past half-century coincides with the rise of major fast-food outlets. Twice as many American adults are obese today than in the 1960's. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. Spurlock goes to show how people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favor of fast food, the rates of obesity have soared. Then in countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. Spurlock really showed how something as simple as getting a quick burger is a life changing event.

Obesity is not only a wide spreading effect of fast food but diabetes is becoming just as much of an epidemic. Spurlock's documentary shows that people who eat fast food are much more likely to develop insulin resistance (diabetes) than those who don't. At one of Spurlock's many check up he finds out that he has high blood pressure due to high blood sugar levels. The result is high blood sugar levels that can make such individuals more prone to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Spurlock also pointed out that those who ate 2 meals per week of fast food had more than a 100 percent risk of insulin resistance compared to those who limited their intake of fast food to one meal or less per week. He said that he gets to live an 8 year olds dream. Well now days the growing risk of children getting diabetes is much greater due to fast food of young children.

During Spurlock's documentary he faced many obstacles such as depression and loss of energy. In the beginning, he seemed