Super-Sized Americans

Lillian Boatwright
English 101
May 1, 2010
Blog # 5
SUPER-SIZED AMERICANS
One of the main factors that has contribute to the outpouring numbers of American’s weight gain are unhealthy food choices. The documentary movie-“Supersize Me” had demonstrated how fast food establishments such as McDonalds and an overconsumption of poor food choices are the culprit to America’s obesity problem. The movie touched on several, interesting topics.

The Toxic Environment-American’s sudden weight gain didn’t happen overnight. We live in an environment where we have easy access to constant fat laden foods that are sold at gas stations, vending machines and fast food restaurants.

The Impact- American’s obesity crisis has been linked to many health problems such as hypertension, stroke, respiratory problems, colon cancer, and onset of diabetes. One of the ice-cream kings Burt Baskin,who pioneered Baskin Robins,died of a heart attack at an early age. John Robbins, the nephew of Burt Baskin, believed there was a link between his uncle death and the amount of ice-cream he ate. Also, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream had a quintuple by-pass surgery at an early age.

Fast Food Advertisement- Television is one of the many tools where food companies advertise their products. McDonald’s alone spent 1.4 billion dollars on advertisement cost worldwide in 2001. Pepsi spent over a billion dollars, and Hershey’s Food spent nearly under 200 million dollars. Unfortunately, the campaign for fruits and vegetables merely spent 2 million dollars. Many young children are targets of the food companies that heavily advertise their products such as sugar cereals, soft drinks, fast food and candy. All of the children who were shown a picture of Ronald McDonald, they all knew he was associated with McDonalds.

Nutrition- When consumers are out-and-about, it’s hard to know what they’re eating. Many of the nutrition information for fast food establishments are not readily available for customers. For example, many of the McDonalds located in Manhattan didn’t have a nutritional fact sheet available for their customers. The nutritional fact sheet was either in the basement or hidden behind an advertisement billboard. The students, who attended Madison Junior High in Illinois, were served foods that didn’t have any nutritional value. Their food lunches consisted of French fries, mozzarella sticks, cookies, and Gatorade drinks. At Park Middle School in West Virginia, the students were served reheated and reconstituted package foods. Some of their meals were high in calories, cholesterol and sodium.

The Final Result- Morgan Spurlock, who underwent a 30-day experiment of solely eating a McDonald diet, had proved eating fast foods was unhealthy. During his 30-day experiment, he experienced nausea, mood swings, and chest pains. He nearly gained 25 pounds, his liver turned into fat, his cholesterol shot from 165 to 230, and his body fat went from 11 % to 18%. He caused damage to his heart, liver and blood.

In my conclusion, Americans didn’t become obese overnight. We have our genetics working against us as well as making poor food choices. Yes, Fast Food establishments are all around us and they are here to stay, but it’s up to each individual to make the right choices. I can attest to my weight gain which didn’t happen overnight. I had eaten at several fast food restaurants and over indulged in the fat laden foods such as potato chips, cookies, cakes, and fried foods. I also didn’t exercise, which also didn’t help, and sooner than I knew it; I was tipping the scale. Due to my weight gain, I felt lethargic and uncomfortable. In the past couple of months, I had changed my eating habits by eliminating fast food restaurants from my diet, and eating less of the fat laden foods, and started walking often. My foods now consist of baked, chicken, fish, beans, raw nuts, salads, and a natural protein smoothie. In my journey, I have lost 25 pounds. I still have more to accomplish, but it’s a start to a better health.