Fast Food and the documentary Super Size Me was the second topic. The reading provoked some hilarity about the idea of only eating at MacDonalds. However, I found that the reading was a little too long and so we ran over time. Ah well, I guess you live and learn.
All in all a lot of people had a go at reading out loud, but getting people to talk at the beginning and the end was difficult. I think some people are too shy to use the mike. Maybe as they get to know the conversation group it will improve. There was some very positive feedback from the people who actively took part, so that's nice.
The Reading
Super Size Me
Why are Americans so fat? Find out in Super Size Me, a tongue in-cheek (and burger in hand) documentary looking at the legal, financial and physical costs of America's hunger for fast food.
Ominously, 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and 2 out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it Americans fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame?
For his documentary Mr Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the "Fattest City" in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and "gut feelings" on America's ever-expanding girth.
During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for an entire month with three simple rules:
• No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
• No super sizing: unless offered
• No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once
For 30 days, everything he ate —breakfast, lunch, dinner, even his bottled water—came from McDonald's. He recorded the results on camera for his documentary Super Size Me.
Over the 30 days the 33-year-old Spurlock's physical condition deteriorates, day by day. "My body just basically fell apart over the course of this diet," Spurlock told Newsweek. "I started to get tired, I started to get headaches; my liver basically started to fill up with fat because there was so much fat and sugar in this food. My blood sugar skyrocketed, my cholesterol went up off the charts, my blood pressure became completely unmanageable. The doctors said things like, 'You have to stop.'" In one month on the fast-food regime, he gained 25 pounds.
It all added up to a lesson for anyone who's ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone. All in all Spurlock gained weight rapidly, suffered from a failing libido, and his cholesterol jumped 65 points and one of his doctor's compared his liver to pâté.
Super Size Me is a satirical jab in the stomach, overstuffed with fat and facts about the billion-dollar industry besieged by doctors, lawyers and nutritionists alike. "Would you like fries with that?" will never sound the same again!