Super Size Me.

[ForeverAutumn]

I think that the biggest problem with eating out in general is portion size. People feel that they need large portions in order to get their money's worth. What ends up happening is that you consume far more calories than you need.

In June, I started a health program at my gym. They gave me a very strict menu to follow for the first six weeks. The menu included take-out options for eating on the run. One of the breakfast options was a McDs breakfast burrito. Just one and nothing with it. One morning I was in a position that I had to eat at McDs. The breakfast combo for the burrito was 2 burrito's and hash browns. Assuming it was just one hash brown (might have been two, I can't remember) the calories for this meal is 750 calories and 41 grams of fat. 41 GRAMS OF FAT! Add a small orange juice to that and you're up to 900 calories. For the average male, that is almost 50% of your suggested total calorie intake for the whole day...and you've only had breakfast.

I ate only one burrito and a coffee and I wasn't left hungry.

The restaurant industry in general is guilty of over feeding us. There's one place we like to go to for pasta. I eat a healthy share for dinner and take the rest home. There's usually enough left over to provide dinner for both Hubby and me the next night. How many people are eating that whole meal in one sitting? It's crazy!

I think that most people just don't understand importance of portion control. Nutrition is something that should be taught in elementary school.

[royphil345]

I think that most people just don't understand importance of portion control. Nutrition is something that should be taught in elementary school.

BINGO!!! That's all there is to it. But, the movie completely disregards any common sense or responsibility for one's own actions. ANYTHING you don't do responsibly will end up causing you problems and it's nobody's fault but yours. I feel this movie sends a bad (and false) message by completely ignoring this simple fact of life and placing blame for their actions elsewhere. This mindset is a recipe for disaster in any area of one's life... and this movie has people embracing it...

[Worf101]

I don't now how many of you on this list have been poor, but I have. I grew up poor but McDonalds wasn't so much an option. White Castle was. The reason the whole nutrition vs. garbage debate is so timely is because, for many people, Mickey D's is about the best meal they get, if any. The following are things I know from experience, it's not representative of all or everything just MY experience.

1. The stay at home mom who cooked dinner is a thing of the past.

2. Mom's now out working.

3. Healthy nutriional foods cost more than junk food.

4. Healthy nutritional foods take time to prepare.

5. Time and money are in short supply on the poor side of town.

6. McDonalds and their ilk are cheap, quick and right down the street.

7. That's why you see so many FAT POOR People.

Da Worfster

[ForeverAutumn]

I don't now how many of you on this list have been poor, but I have. I grew up poor but McDonalds wasn't so much an option. White Castle was. The reason the whole nutrition vs. garbage debate is so timely is because, for many people, Mickey D's is about the best meal they get, if any. The following are things I know from experience, it's not representative of all or everything just MY experience.

1. The stay at home mom who cooked dinner is a thing of the past.

2. Mom's now out working.

3. Healthy nutriional foods cost more than junk food.

4. Healthy nutritional foods take time to prepare.

5. Time and money are in short supply on the poor side of town.

6. McDonalds and their ilk are cheap, quick and right down the street.

7. That's why you see so many FAT POOR People.

Da Worfster

Worf, I've heard this argument before and I have to, respectfully, question it. Now, before I do so, let me start by saying that I have been fortunate to have never been so poor that putting food on the table was a problem. I didn't grow up rich, but I had two working parents and our basic needs were always taken care of. So, if I sound naive, well, it may be that I am. Feel free to set me straight.

It seems to me that a meal at McD's for a family of four would be about $20. Or, for about $10 I can go to the supermarket and buy a barbequed chicken, fully cooked and ready to eat, a head of lettuce and cucumber for a salad, and four potatoes which I can boil in less than 10 minutes and have a healthy meal with little work and at half the cost.

Your supermarket doesn't sell pre-cooked chicken? Okay, for the same $10 I can buy four boxes of macaroni and cheese, a package of chicken or turkey hot dogs and a bag of whole wheat hot dog buns. That'll cover the same family of four for two meals.

Or, howabout a couple of cans of vegetable soup, a package of whole wheat pasta, a bottle of spaghetti sauce and a package of ground beef?

Looking for a snack? A bag of miniature carrots or low fat microwave popcorn is less expensive than a bag of potato chips.

I have a hard time buying into the argument that families don't have the time or money to eat healthy. Healthy eating is not expensive or time consuming. I think that people just don't know how to do it, so they take the easy way out.

If I'm wrong...please correct me.

[jrhymeammo]

low fat microwave popcorn is less expensive than a bag of potato chips.

Saving money in expense of having your mouth smell like urine? Eat too much carrots and your bathroom will leak of popcorn...

I'm just saying.
JRA

[Worf101]

Worf, I've heard this argument before and I have to, respectfully, question it. Now, before I do so, let me start by saying that I have been fortunate to have never been so poor that putting food on the table was a problem. I didn't grow up rich, but I had two working parents and our basic needs were always taken care of. So, if I sound naive, well, it may be that I am. Feel free to set me straight.

It seems to me that a meal at McD's for a family of four would be about $20. Or, for about $10 I can go to the supermarket and buy a barbequed chicken, fully cooked and ready to eat, a head of lettuce and cucumber for a salad, and four potatoes which I can boil in less than 10 minutes and have a healthy meal with little work and at half the cost.

Your supermarket doesn't sell pre-cooked chicken? Okay, for the same $10 I can buy four boxes of macaroni and cheese, a package of chicken or turkey hot dogs and a bag of whole wheat hot dog buns. That'll cover the same family of four for two meals.

Or, howabout a couple of cans of vegetable soup, a package of whole wheat pasta, a bottle of spaghetti sauce and a package of ground beef?

Looking for a snack? A bag of miniature carrots or low fat microwave popcorn is less expensive than a bag of potato chips.

I have a hard time buying into the argument that families don't have the time or money to eat healthy. Healthy eating is not expensive or time consuming. I think that people just don't know how to do it, so they take the easy way out.

If I'm wrong...please correct me.

Single mom, 2.5 kids. Working 3 jobs cause of welfare reform. Screaming kids fiendin' for Mickey D's because they pass 5 of em on the way to school and they've been inundated with Ads for it since they were in the womb. Stick that fat burger in thier mouths just to shut them up. Happy meal and a toy. Then go to the laundry mat, do other household chores before colllapsing in bed. Get up rinse and repeat. I know and you know that with a little time, preparation and effort, you can eat healthier (not completely healthy but better than that) for ALMOST the same money. But you and I are educated and appreciate the health benefits of a better diet, many poor folks do not their just looking to something to shove in their belly's that's quick and cheap and doesn't involve a trip on two buses to get to the grocery store.

Da Worfster

[ForeverAutumn]

Single mom, 2.5 kids. Working 3 jobs cause of welfare reform. Screaming kids fiendin' for Mickey D's because they pass 5 of em on the way to school and they've been inundated with Ads for it since they were in the womb. Stick that fat burger in thier mouths just to shut them up. Happy meal and a toy. Then go to the laundry mat, do other household chores before colllapsing in bed. Get up rinse and repeat. I know and you know that with a little time, preparation and effort, you can eat healthier (not completely healthy but better than that) for ALMOST the same money. But you and I are educated and appreciate the health benefits of a better diet, many poor folks do not their just looking to something to shove in their belly's that's quick and cheap and doesn't involve a trip on two buses to get to the grocery store.

Da Worfster

I hear what you're saying. Thanks for the reality check.

[SlumpBuster]

BINGO!!! That's all there is to it. But, the movie completely disregards any common sense or responsibility for one's own actions. ANYTHING you don't do responsibly will end up causing you problems and it's nobody's fault but yours. I feel this movie sends a bad (and false) message by completely ignoring this simple fact of life and placing blame for their actions elsewhere. This mindset is a recipe for disaster in any area of one's life... and this movie has people embracing it...

Alright, I'll jump into the fray.

Your posts confuse me. First you chide people for believing the movie's muckraking that McDs is an evil corporation. But then you chastise people for suggesting McD's has implemented some responsible changes. If it's all about responsibility, then what is McDs responsibility? Do they have none? And if they don't, why not?

The personal responsibility arguement fails when we are talking about 7 year old children. McD's directly and primarily targets children. They have playgrounds and cartoon characters. They sponsor school events and activities. Who doesn't remember the big, yellow, cooler of McD's "orange drink" growing up. Of course, the typical response is "Well, then their parents need to do a better job." Fine, that may be true. But, we really shouldn't be punishing children simply because their parents are failing them. "Well, sorry you got fat little Jimmy, but you should have been born to smarter, affluent, discerning parents. But you weren't, so you'll be dying of heart diseast at 51." I think this is a point the movie addresses admirably.

Also, if the consuming public has a duty to act responsibly, then so does McD's. McD's does not sell anything even closely resembling a hamburger. Don't believe me? I challenge you to go to the grocery store, purchase ingredients, and then produce something even resembling a McD's hamburger, let alone something that would actual pass as one. THis is where the addictive arguement comes in that the movie addresses. They are not selling hamburgers, but rather an engineered product designed in initiate and continue a habitual pattern of consumption. People shout, "But, you can't regulate food!" Bullsh!t. We do it all the time. In alot of places its illegal to sell raw cows milk for human consumption. There is a "grey" market of the stuff sold with labels that say "not for human consumption" but that health nuts go crazy for. If raw milk can be made illegal, then why can't it go 180 degrees in the opposite direction where the milk has been so extensively processed and engineered into what McD's calls "cheese" as to be illegal. In otherwords, raw cow's milk is illegal because it is too raw. What's wrong then with McD "cheese" being illegal because it is too processed? Too extreme for you? Okay, let's at least stop them from calling it cheese. After all Dairy Queen can't sell "ice cream," they only have "Dairy Queen Frozen Treat."

Finally, Spurlock (Mr. Supersize) repeatedly acknowledges that he has taken his consumption to an extreme level. But, his experiment reveals several things. First, it ain't real food. If it was, then I should be able to construct a three meal day from it. Second, by taking it to the extreme, Spurlock speeds up the otherwise slow process many people are subjecting themselves to for dramatic effect. Third, people claim "McDs doesn't claim you should eat there everyday, let alone every meal." Really? Then why does every McD's menu board contain the word "Everyday" as in "Everyday Value Menu." The clear implication is "this stuff is so cheap, you can eat here everyday!" At which point I refer you back up to Worf's excellent post.

[bobsticks]

If it's all about responsibility, then what is McDs responsibility? Do they have none? And if they don't, why not?.

Their responsibility is to turn a profit for their stockholders. Period.

It's the responsibility of a concerned citizenry on talk forums like this one, concerned parents groups, responsible media agencies, civic-minded filmmakers, and applicable government agencies to pressure, coerce, and economically demand that any company's product conform not only to the minimum safety standards but the maximun utility for the consumer.

Don't like the product? Don't buy it. Tell your friends.

Don't think it's fundamentally safe? Don't buy it. Tell your friends' friends. Contact applicable regulatory commissions with specific concerns.

Scared for the kids? Don't buy it. Shake your friends. Stage protests.Tell the soccer moms. Scream form the mountain top.

...but don't expect the paradigm for a profit-based entity to be humanitarian concern at the expense of revenue. Vote with your dollars and your voice. Of course, this is but one jaded American viewpoint, and given that the free market, laws of supply and demand and democracy all depend on the participation of a concerned and informed citizenry maybe we should just empower Burl Ives as King/Daddy and usher in the era of safe and lazy warm-fuzzies.