Tectonic shifts occurred this month on the nutritional landscape. From new scientific research and pop-culture movie documentaries to restaurant menu offerings and congressional legislation, obesity concerns weighed in heavily.
Those titanic movements, in the wake of growing evidence that Americans are becoming as big as whales, are welcome and serve as harbingers that the restaurant industry is doing its part to broadcast a healthful message.
Chief among the developments was McDonald's Corp.'s decision to phase out its popular Super Size fries and drinks in its domestic restaurants, which the company said was an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices "for a balanced lifestyle." Last year McDonald's added entree salads to its menu and provided fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals.
McDonald's, because of its sheer size, with more than 13,000 restaurants nationwide, has been a large target, although two attempted class-action lawsuits against it, alleging liability for obesity-related illnesses, either were dropped or were thrown out of court.
In May the company will be a target once again with the general release of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me" documentary, which won a directing prize at the recent Sundance Film Festival.
That movie chronicles Spurlock's personal odyssey of eating nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days and gaining 24 pounds and 65 points in cholesterol. "My film is about corporate responsibility and individual responsibility," Spurlock said. "The company says it's doing its part. Now people have to do their part. People who go to these stores need to realize what they're putting into their mouths."
Indeed, McDonald's is doing its part. The Super Size option will be phased out by year-end, and its 42-ounce-drink component will be available only during some promotions.
Meanwhile, the government is adding more fat to the fire.
New data indicate that obesity is closing in on tobacco as the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Statistics compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that poor diet and physical inactivity accounted for about 400,000 deaths in the United States in 2000. That was about 17 percent of all deaths and an increase of 100,000 in such deaths over the 1990 figure. Tobacco use resulted in 435,000 deaths in 2000, the CDC said.
The agency also said that about 129.6 million Americans, or 64 percent of the adult population, are overweight, and about 31 percent are considered obese. "This is a call to action," CDC director Julie Gerberding said.
When people consume supersized fast food meals, is the food to blame when they themselves become supersized? Morgan Spurlock takes on the challenge of eating only McDonald's every day, three times a day, for thirty days straight to see how these meals affects the physique and general health of a human body. The Film Supersize Me uses logos, pathos, and ethos to effectively persuade the audience that eating fast foods, namely McDonald's, has horrible side effects.
If this is at all indicative of any other films within this genre, than it highlights a troubling pattern within modern nutritional documentaries. The money spent on this films post production would be better used on doing actual research to back up the claims made. While the traditional Americans diet is definitely hungry for change, it is also starving for science.
America has always been about being the biggest nation: the biggest houses, the biggest cars, biggest cities and unfortunately the biggest bodies. There is no doubt that fast food is causing major health problems for many Americans today. In his documentary, Super Size Me, released in 2004 Morgan Spurlock decides to eat only food from McDonald’s for thirty days to see how it would affect his health. Spurlock starts out healthier than the average man for his age. Throughout the film, we can see that his health gradually degenerates and reaches a critical point, before his thirty days are over. Super Size Me is very persuasive in showing the negative effect in fast food restaurants by using logos, pathos, and ethos.
The United States of America has long been considered a “big nation”, whether is has the biggest cities, houses, and on a negative note, biggest people. In 2003, Morgan Spurlock, a healthy-bodied film director, set on a quest to show America the detrimental effects of the fast food industry and raise awareness on the controversial issue. He produced the documentary “Supersize Me”, where McDonald’s meals were consumed for every meal of the day for thirty days. His film was released to movie theatres so that people could understand the devastating effects of McDonald’s on his body in a very short time span. At the end of his experiment, Morgan gained twenty-five pounds, developed a thirteen percent body mass increase, cholesterol skyrocketed immensely, and fat accumulation in his liver rose to. He became depressed and he only felt happy and in no pain when he was eating the fast food. By using ethos, logos, and pathos, “Supersize Me” became one of the most watched documentaries in the United States. Without these appeals, this documentary would not have developed the effect that it did.
The first step that Spurlock utilizes is documenting his daily life through this modified “McDiet. He include visual aspects in his documentary, like personal footage, to help support his claim. Throughout this documentary, Spurlock includes records of him eating out of only McDonald's every day for a month. He documents his every meal and the experiences he has after eating. He would record how he is feeling and his health condition at many points in the film. From day one to day thirty, he shows how much he had eaten and his final analysis of his experiment. The immoderate McDonald's diet that Spurlock consumed helps show the health risks, consequences, and dangers of fast food. By performing this experiment, Spurlock was able to prove that fast food is a major factor in rising health and obesity problems. Another analytical track that Spurlock incorporated is the uses of text to he...
Increased portion sizes have gone unnoticed by consumers unaware of their unhealthy actions and has become the trend because of its gradual incorporation in our eating habits. In just twenty years, significant differences among the sizes of products can be noticed and most often seen to have doubled(1). Not only are increasing portion sizes reaching dine-out style meals where hamburger, french-fry, and soda sizes are two to five times larger than originals, but they are making their way into the homes of our public. Recipes found in newer editions of Joy of Cooking, a popular home cookbook, shows fewer serving sizes coming from identical recipes of older editions. This can be explained to show that larger portion sizes are to be anticipated from the recipes.
Elsevier Health Sciences. "Eating Out Can Have Both Positive And Negative Impact On Obesity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 January 2008. .
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
When Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, the famous chain was born. The company has become very successful with having sold over one billion hamburgers within just eight years of business (McSpotlight - History of McDonalds). So if this chain is so popular, why has McDonalds been criticised so much lately? Mostly because their food options are very high in calories and fat. The most caloric item on their menu is the Triple Thick Chocolate Shake - 1160 calories, 27g of fat, 168g of sugar, and 510mg of sodium. The most fattening menu item is the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese - 740 calories, 42g of fat (19g Saturated), and 1380mg of sodium! “It delivers the highest calorie, fat, and sodium content of any sandwich or burger at McDonalds.” The other three most unhealthy foods on the top five list are: Chicken Selects with 660 calories, Grilled Chicken Club with 570 calories, and the Big Mac with 540 calories (Fitzpatrick). Only seven items on the McMenu contain no sugar - fries, sausage, coffee, Chicken McNuggets, hash browns, Diet Coke, and iced tea (Super Size ...
McDonald’s, one of America’s fastest growing fast food restaurants, has made more than its share of money within the last twenty years serving more than 46 million people daily. They have twice as many restaurants as Burger King and more restaurants than KFC, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell Combined. Often children have the dream of eating fast food for every meal of every day. Well, Morgan Spurlock took the challenge to see how dangerous it would be to eat McDonalds for every meal. He also took the challenge in response to a lawsuit against McDonalds by a family whose children became obese by the contents of its meals. Directed and starring Morgan Spurlock, who is married to a vegan chef and a healthy man for his age, Super-Size Me is a film that followed Spurlock for 31 days as he follows certain rules set by a series of physicians. He was only allowed to meals off the McDonalds menu including water. Also, he couldn’t exercise but had to walk the same amount of steps as the average American. Filmed all over the United States, Super-Size Me was made to inform the public on the manufactured foods they consume daily. The film also raises awareness on the dangers of what manufactured foods do to the body. Super-Size Me showed how one of the most popular fast food restaurants around today may be leading future generations to severe health problems.
Trend towards a healthier lifestyle – as more people are beginning to transition to becoming healthier, the demand for McDonalds and various other fast food restaurants may slowly decrease as people opt for food with lower calories and fats.
In today’s market, McDonalds faces numerous challenges such as fierce competition, a more health conscious customer, and the continual need for improved customer satisfaction and menu. McDonalds needs to go through some changes in order to remain ahead in the fast-food industry.
Surveys guesstimate that snacking caused people to consume 300 additional calories than what they normally would. McDonalds is the biggest contributor to this snacking culture , which provides 43 percent of snack food consumption in the United States only.
A franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation operates a McDonald’s restaurant. Thus, McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees or sales in company-operated restaurants. According to Yahoo Finance report, McDonald's Corporation had annual revenues of $27.5 billion, and profits of $5.5 billion (McDonald’s 2014). McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken snacks, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes, the company has expanded its menu to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies, and fruit. Their food caters to all age groups, and they have a special menu known as “happy meal” that is targeting children.