Supersize Me: The Negative Impact of Fast Food Industry on People in The United States

Morgan Spurlock's 'SuperSize Me' documentary explores fast food companies and the impact of McDonalds-based fast food goods. The film also discusses the rising obesity and diabetes crisis in the United States. Morgan has decided to eat nothing but McDonald's meals for thirty days. He will eat at least one of everything that is provided on the menu, and when he is asked to supersize his meal he must upgrade to the supersize. One rule during Morgan's research is that he can perform only 5,000 steps a day to approximate the daily exercise that the average Americans are doing. He also has to consume three meals each day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Morgan will also not be able to eat if McDonalds doesn't provide the food for him.

Before Morgan starts his journey he goes and visits three doctors that will help him throughout his 30-day documentary. He goes to a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, and a general practitioner to check all of his vitals to make sure they were all perfect. When he goes and visit each doctor they told him that they expect to see changes throughout his body. For instance his liver will be able to metabolize the fat and he will gain weight which can cause his cholesterol to go up. Not only does Morgan goes and see these doctors but he also hires a nutritionist and a dietician who will track each food he eats during his process.

During Morgan’s 30-day of eating only McDonalds he experiences many side effects such as becoming more tired and feeling very sluggish. He also consumes a lot of sugar during his process which can cause him to experience headaches. He complained about stomach ache and constantly throwing up after eating a super sized meal. Throughout his journey he gained 24.5 lbs and his cholesterol raised up to 65 from eating constantly for 30-days. Each time that Morgan would go check up with the doctors they told him that he was ruining his liver and ricked getting a heart disease which was proven each time he took a blood test. He was ruining his liver due to the fact that he had to metabolize the excess fat.

Obesity has been a growing epidemic in the U.S. In this documentary Morgan eats McDonalds three times a day which is not realistic for an average American. Although he did state in the documentary that 22% of McDonald's consumers were super heavy users which could mean that they eat McDonalds at least 3-4 times a week or more. This documentary was mostly affected by McDonalds marketing and how they target kids or lower income families. The cheap food that can fill you up for a long time is easier for lower income families to provide for their children. In the creation of playgrounds, birthday party planning, children's toys, Ronald McDonald's clown, and many other innovative marketing tactics such as a commercial on Television, shows the depth to which McDonalds does target their market to children.

In regards to the fast food industry, I think the government will have to regulate certain fast food industry practices in order to keep the public from eating so unhealthy. Although the government will most likely try not to persuade the American public not to eat fast food due to the constitutional influence of the fast food industry and multi-million dollar lobbyists. McDonalds would have to sacrifice it’s profit in order to put their money into producing more healthier foods, but as Morgan stated in the film that McDonalds is a business whose loyalty is within the shareholders and not the general public.