Kuni Araki

Araki 1

English 220-023
Ms. Alapin
6 November 2015
Does America Have An Especially Poor Diet?
America, Land of the Free and home of some of the biggest people in the world. In the
2004 film, Super Size Me, director Morgan Spurlock states that America is the most overweight
nation in the entire world. Additionally he states that there are 100 million Americans who are
overweight or obese, which is more than sixty percent of all adults in the United States. Today,
America is no longer the most overweight nation in the world, but there are still many
overweight Americans who have poor diets. Much of the blame for Americas diet and obesity
problems are put on the widespread fast food industry. In his documentary, Spurlock shows that
Americans have an especially poor diet compared to the rest of the world by exploring the fast
food industry.
Fast food is dangerous to health if eaten
frequently. It is a major cause of obesity in the
United States. In Obesity and Fast Food, by Dr.
Ananya Mandal, it is stated that fast food leads to
weight gain and a higher Body Mass Index,
which can in turn lead to obesity. This is made
clear in Super Size Me as viewers see Spurlocks
weight increase by 24.5 pounds through the
addition of body fat. In The Effects of Fast Food
on the Body, authors Ann Pietrangelo and Elea

Effects of eating fast food frequently

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Carey state that when fast food is eaten on a regular basis, bad cholesterol (LDL) levels rise, the
heart has a harder time performing its job, and depression can occur, as well as headaches.
Interestingly enough, Spurlock develops all of these issues during his thirty day McDonalds
diet. His cholesterol levels rise sixty-five points, he goes from eleven to eighteen percent body
fat, he nearly doubles his risk of developing coronary heart disease, he feels depressed, and he
gets headaches when he is craving McDonalds (Super).
By eating nothing but McDonalds for thirty days, Spurlock shows how Americas diet
is poor compared to other countries. His frequent eating of McDonalds reflects the idea that
Americans are eating too frequently at fast food restaurants. Spurlock states that Each day, one
in four Americans visits a fast food restaurant (Super). This means that in 2004, twenty-five
percent of people in the United States were eating fast food on a daily basis. On the streets of
New York City, Spurlock asks
several individuals how often they eat
at fast food restaurants. One of the
pedestrians states that he eats fast
food once every two weeks, while
another states that he eats fast food
three to four times a week (Super).
McDonald's next to entrance of a hospital in London

Part of the reason why Americans eat

out so often at these restaurants is that they are very cheap and convenient. McDonalds are
everywhere, they are found every few blocks in any populated city. Ironically, McDonalds are
even found in hospitals (Super).

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The fact that fast food restaurants are everywhere contributes to the idea that America is
a toxic environment. Kelly Brownell, a professor at the Yale Center for Eating and Weight
Disorders describes Amercias toxic environment as an environment that almost guarantees that
we become sick (Super). Brownell means that America is an environment that causes
individuals to become obese or sick with diseases like coronary heart disease. In addition to
Brownells statement about the environment, Spurlock states that Americans have such a poor
diet because they have constant access to cheap, fat-laden foods (Super). Unhealthy food can
be accessed everywhere. Gas stations make more money off of the candy and sodas they sell
than the gas itself, and there are over three-million vending machines for soda located around the
nation (Super).
In this toxic environment, Americans are constantly making poor decisions leading them
to having poor diets. When Spurlock asks a McDonalds employee named Debra how often
customers supersize their orders when offered, she replies that the customers almost always
accept the offer (Super). Even though most customers know how unhealthy it is to eat such a
large amount of fast food, they accept the offer. However, Americans are not fully aware that
their diets are poor compared to other countries because they do not realize just how big their
food portions are. For instance, Spurlock interviews a woman from France, which states that the
small size for drinks in America is the large size in France, and that she cannot even finish the
small size in America (Super). Many Americans would not know this unless they ate at a
McDonalds outside of the country or heard this from someone outside the country.
Another factor that many Americans do not realize that leads them to have poor diets is
food advertising, which influences both adults and children to eat unhealthily. Commercials
related to food are aired all of the time on television. In the film, Spurlock asks a group of three

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women and a girl to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The group attempts to recite it several times,
but they fail each time. However, when asked if they know the Big Mac slogan, one woman
recites it perfectly. This scene shows how strong and widespread advertising could be.
Advertising is so strong and widespread that children alone see about 10,000
commercials for food each year (Super). Brownell states that ninety-five percent of them are for
sugared cereals, soft drinks, fast foods, and candy (Super). This is a large percentage of
commercials, which are extremely effective in causing children to desire unhealthy food. To see
just how effective these advertisements are, Spurlock performs a small test. He shows several
pictures of famous figures to different first graders and asks each of them to identify the person
in the picture. When shown a picture of Jesus, the children reply that they do not know who it is.
One of the children replies that it is George W. Bush (Super). However, when the children are
shown a picture of Ronald McDonald, all of the children can identify him. When Spurlock asks
the first graders where they have seen him, one replies, on television on the commercials and
another replies, He does a lot of funny stuff on TV (Super). Through this simple test, Spurlock
is able to make the judgment that the advertising of unhealthy food is highly effective on
children.
In his award-winning documentary, Morgan Spurlock uncovers the reasons why
America has an especially poor diet compared to other countries. He shows the harmful effects
of fast food on his body over a one month period, he shows how frequently Americans eat fast
food, he describes how America is a toxic environment, and he shows the effectiveness of fast
food advertising. Most importantly, Spurlock implies that in order to end Americas poor eating
habits and obesity epidemic, Americans need to eat less fast food or stop eating fast food
entirely.

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Works Cited
Mandal, Ananya, Dr. "Obesity and Fast Food." News Medical. AZoM.com, 31 Mar. 2013. Web.
03 Nov. 2015.
Pietrangelo, Ann, and Elea Carey. "The Effects of Fast Food on the Body." Healthline.
Healthline Networks, Inc, 2 Nov. 2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Roadside Attractions, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Showtime
Independent Films, 2004. DVD.