Obesity: a Problem with Personal Responsibility

Fast food is unhealthy and does not provide the necessary nutrients needed for a daily diet, however Mcdonald's, a fast food empire claimed in a 2004 lawsuit against them that fast food can be a part of a healthy diet. The court ruled that the plaintiffs would have a serious claim if they could prove that eating fast food for every meal is dangerous for the person and their health. Morgan Spurlock, writer, director, producer, and star of 2004 documentary Supersize Me set out to prove that fast food is dangerous for a person's health. The documentary follows Morgan on his 30 day challenge of only eating fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Through Morgan's challenge his weight skyrockets, his health declines and feels terrible all the time. Many people believe that fast food companies are to blame for America's obesity but the individual must take responsibility for what they put into their bodies instead of blaming fast food companies for their unhealthy eating habits .The documentary explores the idea that people should avoid eating fast food because Fast food, although more convenient and easier is worse for you than making your own meals. Fast food leads to many health risks and is not a good substitution for traditional meals. People should avoid eating

Did you know that “every day 1 in 4 Americans visit a fast food restaurant? If that’s not alarming to you, then consider this, left unabated, obesity will surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in America.” (Clark, Charles) Fast food has become a part of American culture. With the way the world is today who wouldn’t want to eat somewhere that can have you in and out in five minutes for fewer than five dollars? It has been made very clear that Americans love to eat as we rank number one most years as the world’s most obese nation, but it’s not just America. In his documentary, Morgan Spurlock notes that, “Popular fast food chains like McDonalds, now operate in more than 126 countries in six continents having more than 31,000 restaurants globally.” (Spurlock 2004) The most alarming part about all of these statistics is the groups they most affect. The catchy advertisements and addictive qualities of the food is what has everyone coming back for more. Fast food companies advertisements targeting the young and lower classes are the cause for the obesity epidemic in America.

The movie "Super Size Me" is a documentary on a man who has decided to consume only McDonald's food for a period of thirty days. This man, Mr. Spurlock, has embarked on this adventure to assess the health issue of McDonald's food. Of course, there are a couple of rules. He has to eat McDonalds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He also has to devour everything on the menu at least once. If he is asked to super size his meal, he must submit. His experiences during this thirty day trial period are astonishing. Even more startling is what happens to his physical wellness during this McDonalds rampage.

The article “Don’t Blame the Eater", by David Zinczenko talks about how a group of people are suing McDonald’s for making them fat. Zinczenko shares his experience on how fast food has effect his childhood and teenage years. He explains how teenagers can put on weight with a fast food and part of the problem is the lack in nutritional information about fast food. In addition, he speaks about fast food and the companies behind it.

Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Morgan Spurlock’s amateur documentary “Supersize Me” pushed reform in both fast food culture, and eating habits of citizens, being one of the first catalysts in a new movement in America. This 2004 film, being the first of his works to establish Spurlock as a filmmaker, focuses on Spurlock’s 30 day journey in which he vowed to eat solely McDonalds for three meals a day, and track his overall mental, physical, and social changes over this span of time. Throughout the film, Spurlock consults three doctors (a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner) as well as a nutritionist to monitor physical change and gather quantitative data supporting his claim. The film often exhibited

McDonald’s is killing Americans, at least that is what Morgan Spurlock believes. In his documentary Super Size Me he embarks on a quest to not only describe and use himself as an example of the growing obesity trend, but to offer the viewers with base-line nutritional knowledge that will allow them to draw their own informed conclusions. Spurlock's primary intention is to prove through self-experimentation that eating solely McDonald's food is dangerous. His secondary intention is to denounce the rising obesity rate in American by using statistics, his own research, and the opinions of experts. His broader message is for a general audience while he tailors select chapters towards more specific demographics such as parents or McDonald's

Morgan Spurlock’s motivation to create his documentary emerged from a certain court case, in which two teenage girls sued McDonald's for selling them products that resulted in them being obese for their age group (Spurlock). McDonald’s testimony stated that the girls could not fully prove that it was the McDonald’s product that were making them overweight and that eating their products for every meal would be seemingly dangerous (Spurlock). Spurlock to this statement into his owns hands and a decided to conduct a month long experiment, in which he would go on a thirty-day long binge of McDonald’s food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to prove if and how fast food can make a person obese (Spurlock). It is well known within the general public that fast food in not a healthy option for a meal but for many, fast food is the only

Are fast food productions hold responsible for America being categorized as the fattest nation? In the documentary Supersize me, Morgan Spurlock, director, and author of this film challenges himself on a McJourney for thirty days. Spurlock could only eat fast food that came from McDonalds. He went onto this journey to analyze the effect McDonald’s has on the human body. The film Supersize Me uses ethos, logos and pathos to effectively convincingly argue how people should be more aware of the foods they eat, and the possible repercussions they are risking.

Obesity is only second to tobacco smoking as the most preventable death in the United States today. In order to publicize the obesity epidemic, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarks on a thirty day experiment documented in his film, Super Size Me. Nutritionists, healthy eaters, and unhealthy eaters alike are shown the harmful effects of fast food. In order to emphasize the scale of the epidemic and address a large audience, Spurlock appeals to logos through his use of expert testimony, statistics, anticipating counterarguments, and piling.

In a society that is facing numerous problems, such as economic devastation, one major problem is often disregarded, growing obesity. As the American society keeps growing, so does growth of the fast food industry and the epidemic of obesity. In order to further investigate the main cause of obesity, Morgan Spurlock, the film director and main character, decides to criticize the fast food industry for its connection with obesity in America. In his documentary Spurlock performs a radical experiment that drives him to eat only from McDonald's and order a super-sized meal whenever he is asked. By including visual and textual techniques, rhetorical appeals, and argumentative evidences, Morgan Spurlock was able

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

In 2008, the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease claiming that “Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans,” said AMA board member Patrice Harris, M.D. While this may be true, is that a justifiable reason to classify obesity, a result of unhealthy decisions, as a disease? The fact is obesity is the consequence of choosing an unhealthy lifestyle. True the unhealthy lifestyle may not be chosen on purpose but “The choices we make by accident are just as important as the choices we make by design” – Anonymous. Therefore if obesity is a consequence of choices then I feel obesity itself has to be a choice,

In 2003 Morgan Spurlock launched on an experiment of sorts to fully understand the effects that fast food, in this case specifically McDonald’s food can have on one’s physiological and mental health by eating nothing but McDonald’s food for thirty days. Before embarking on this quest, Spurlock visited a general practitioner, a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, a dietician, and an exercise specialist. He began his McDonald’s journey with exceptional health, by the end of the thirty days he had suffered serious health consequences both physically and mentally. From an addiction to McDonald’s food to a major increase in cholesterol levels there is no doubt that Spurlock’s health greatly declined in the month long period. Spurlock documented his journey in a film entitled Supersize Me, which has served as a call to action for the years since its release.

Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.

Obesity is probably the most significant issue facing the McDonald’s Company today. The corporation has been severally blamed for the menace due to its wide range of junk foods. As the world’s largest fast food company, it has become a target of most health related films such as Super Size Me. This is because the public blames the company for failing to give nutritional information concerning the items on its menu (Baron, 2010).