Over the course of the film, Spurlock is regularly examined by a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and SoHo-based general practitioner Dr. Daryl Isaacs. "He was an extremely healthy person who got very sick eating this McDonald's diet," Dr. Isaacs told The Post. "None of us imagined he could deteriorate this badly - he looked terrible. The liver test was the most shocking thing - it became very, very abnormal." "I got desperately ill," he says. "My face was splotchy and I had this huge gut, which I've never had in my life. "My knees started to hurt from the extra weight coming on so quickly. It was amazing - and really frightening." Yikes New York Post online By MEGAN LEHMANN January 22, 2004 -- LAST February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a gastronomical guinea pig. His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health. Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping 6-foot-2 New Yorker - who started out at a healthy 185 pounds - had packed on 25 pounds. But his supersized shape was the least of his problems. Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock's entire body deteriorated. "It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days," Spurlock told The Post. His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression. Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary, which he has taken to the Sundance Film Festival with the hopes of getting a distribution deal. "Super Size Me" explores the obesity epidemic that plagues America today - a sort of "Bowling for Columbine" for fast food. As well as documenting his own burger-fueled bulk-up, Spurlock travels to 20 cities across America, interviewing people on the street, health experts and a lobbyist for the fast-food industry. Despite making dozens of phone calls, Spurlock fails to get anyone from McDonald's to agree to an on-camera interview. A spokeswoman for McDonald's told The Post yesterday that no representatives from the corporation had seen "Super Size Me." "Consumers can achieve balance in their daily dining decisions by choosing from our array of quality offerings and range of portion sizes to meet their taste and nutrition goals," McDonald's said in a statement. Over the course of the film, Spurlock is regularly examined by a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and SoHo-based general practitioner Dr. Daryl Isaacs. "He was an extremely healthy person who got very sick eating this McDonald's diet," Dr. Isaacs told The Post. "None of us imagined he could deteriorate this badly - he looked terrible. The liver test was the most shocking thing - it became very, very abnormal." Spurlock has since returned to normal health. "The treatment was to just stop doing what he was doing," Dr. Isaacs says. Spurlock, who says he ate at McDonald's only sporadically before his total immersion in the Mickey D's menu, says he even began craving fat and sugar fixes between meals. "I got desperately ill," he says. "My face was splotchy and I had this huge gut, which I've never had in my life. "My knees started to hurt from the extra weight coming on so quickly. It was amazing - and really frightening." Spurlock's girlfriend, Alex Jamieson, was horrified - she's a vegan chef. "She was completely disgusted by me, not happy at all," he says. "But she realized what my goals were in trying to educate people." Spurlock, a film producer who grew up in West Virginia and studied ballet for eight years, was spurred to make his first feature film while watching TV on Thanksgiving Day, 2002. "I was feeling like a typical American on Thanksgiving - very bloated and happy on the couch - and at some point on the news they were talking about two women who were suing McDonald's. "People from the food industry were saying, 'You can't link kids being fat to our food - our food is nutritious.' "I said, 'How nutritious is it really? Let's find out." Not surprisingly, Spurlock has steered clear of the Golden Arches since filming wrapped. "I have not had McDonald's for seven months, but yesterday, during an interview, I had a bite of a Big Mac," he says. "I chewed it up, swallowed it and I said, 'You know what, I'm pretty much done after that bite.' " http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/16393.htm
Hey, that reminds me: It's Burger King lunch day! Yay! Oh, happy day! I suggest EVERYONE reads Fast Food Nation. Very good (and shocking) read on the fast food industry. Sure, it didn't deter me from having my once-a-week fast food meal (I'm weak ), but it did make me think twice about relying on fast food (a college habit).
I don't get it. Did he work out at all during that time? If so, he probably wouldn't have gotten a gut that big.
Why are you focussing on hig ut or weight gain? The shocking part was the effect on his internal organs.
I never realized your body could go to hell so fast, I rarely eat fast food (never at McD's) - but this makes me seriously consider not eating any of that junk again. I always believed moderation would keep you healthy, but it seems even a little fast food garbage is really bad for you. Nasty.
well, a lot of it is just having the stuff for every meal... not even remotely balanced, and you'll be seriously missing some vitamins. Once (or twice, or maybe even a little more) a week isn't going to hurt... that is, if you're talking about fast food in general. Now, Mickey D's is in a level of "nasty" all by itself. At least go to Wendy's or Burger King if you're going to do that... and there are even better places out there... My husband eats fast food every single day of his life and is still skinny. Also in decent health. Works out some but not really very much. I can't get away with that. Now, what would happen if you ate all your meals at Taco Cabana for a month? Would that be better? At least it sounds a lot more palatable.
IF you were going to do this, you would need to supplement the diet with a multi-vitamin for sure. Simply not enough fruits/vegetables in the diet. You *CAN* order a regular side salad at McDonald's, though, or one of those fruit & yogurt parfaits, which are not bad.
I love McDonald's and it doesn't surprise me the weight gain, given the fact that he probably didn't work out...You eat fast food 3 times a day, your going to be a FAT AZZ!!! The thing that does bother me is his internal organs...Not everyone is the same, but I agree eating horribly does do something terrible to your organs...
I don't think he stopped exercising or maybe he started feeling so awful that he had to quit. Vomiting within a few days (!) To put this in perspective I think eating fast food anywhere for 30 straight days would make you sick (think taco bell, pizza hut, subway), but Mc D’s is the most popular and the worst. It wouldn’t be so hard for them to make healthier food.
Amen. Fast Food Nation is an awesome book and should be required reading for anybody who steps into McDonalds, Taco Bell or any of the other fast food joints that are poisoning people around the world. I, too, have an occasional fast food meal (but only when I'm on the road), but I do my best to avoid those "restaurants." I wish I was strong enough to avoid these places altogether. It's disgusting what you're actually eating and contributing to.
Although I still enjoy McDonald's occasionally, I eat at different places now that I'm out of college. Instead of the low-end fast food places, I eat lunch at places like Chipotle, Moe's, EZ's, Thundercloud Subs, etc. They're got fresher foods, and aren't filled with grease. Hell, even Fuddrucker's is much better than McDonald's. I know the current 2 for $2.22 Quarter Pounders is tempting, but try to stay away. But, I refuse to give up on the 30-cent wings at BW3 on Tuesday nights.
I wonder what in particular is so evil about the food - do they pump fat into the patty or in the bun for that matter? Do they use nothing but low quality beef and chicken? Some things are of course obvious the shakes/ pies, fries, and the various sauces they use are full of fat and garbage. ~~Bah-da-bah-bah bah! My liver just blew up and I'm hatin' IT ~~
It was probably vitamin deficiencies and whatnot that screwed up his liver. As with all things, moderation is typically ok. Eating fast food (even McD's) once in a while will not give you liver failure.
I just listened to an ad from the fine governor of Texas Rick Perry. He is challenging all Texans to get in shape and lose weight - the official sponsor of the program and main location to pick-up helpful information on weight loss...Wendy's.
Wendy's actually has great salads, a few still have the salad bar option. Drink a water with a squeeze of lemon and you're in good healthy fast food zone.
