Morgan’s health condition before he embarked on his 30-day experiment was excellent. His blood pressure was normal, he had no history of high-risk diseases among his immediate family, he had good reflexes, no fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, no chest pains or anything. His blood tests showed good results — a cholesterol level of 168, a triglycerides level of 43, and his kidneys and liver were also functioning well. At 6’2” weighing 185 pounds, his BMI was in the normal range, and his body fat was only 11%. In short everything about his general health was good, and these were all backed up by evidences from tests made by 3 doctors, a nutritionist/dietician and a physiologist.
After the experiment, Morgan’s overall health definitely deteriorated. From 185.5 his weight became 210 pounds, which meant a weight gain of 24.5 pounds. His liver had turned to fat, and his cholesterol level increased by 65 points from 168 making it 233. From 11% his body fat also rose to 18%. In undergoing this experiment, Morgan doubled his risk of acquiring coronary heart disease which meant making himself a more likely candidate to undergo heart failure. There were days when Morgan felt bad, had shortness of breath, some chest pains, and other unusual symptoms. As the experiment went along, Morgan became somewhat addicted to the fastfood stuff he was eating that he developed headaches when he didn’t get his dose of them.
Morgan took a great risk in subjecting himself to this experiment. It’s just fortunate that he was able to prove his point – that fastfood in general, is bad for one’s health – not only to himself but to other entities as well. The experiment was able to establish a link between fastfood, health deterioration and obesity, and some other related issues too. This movie must be taken seriously by anyone having similar health problems and is still fond of eating fastfood.
We see advertisements everywhere, and consciously or unconsciously, we get to absorb the messages sent by these media and somehow, it gets to influence the choices that we make. One of the side effects of ads is that through repetition, we get to adapt and memorize the jingles used and we become familiar with the icons as they become a regular part of our daily lives. At the start of the movie, children are shown singing a jingle combining different fastfood joints – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s. Another part of the movie shows some friends of Morgan reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance” but they could not complete it because they always ended up laughing. But when asked about the McDonald’s “Big Mac slogan” one of them quickly completed the correct slogan, word for word. Another part of the movie shows Morgan showing some kids the faces of famous personalities. The kids were not familiar with some, most were not even familiar with Jesus, but they all knew Ronald McDonald. These portions of the movie just goes to show how powerful the instrument of advertising can be because the children’s exposure to ads have made them learn the less essential things, as opposed to the more important and useful knowledge. I think the power of media should be exploited and used more as an instrument of knowledge rather than one which works against it, especially for the sake of kids.
Morgan raised the issue that most other schools in the US were serving unhealthy kinds of food like French fries, juices with sugar content comparable to the amount found in sodas, fried foods, processed foods, chips, reconstituted packaged foods which were loaded with lots of calories. Schools are also said to turn a blind eye when it comes to the students’ food consumption because most schools prioritized profit over health.
Appleton Central High School is a public school for students who have problems with their behavior. The feeding program for students is mainly a healthy diet which consists of fresh natural foods with low fat, minimal sugar content, no added chemicals or preservatives, whole grains and lots of fiber. The food served has no beef, and most food is baked, not fried. Morgan interviewed the school authorities and found out that the initiative came from them since they saw the major changes that happened when they introduced these kinds of foods to the students. Thus, they eliminated the vendo machines for soda, bottled water and candies.
All schools in the US should address the problem of obesity starting with self-evaluation. If it isn’t healthy, or it won’t be good for the students, then it should not be served in the lunch line. Furthermore, parents should also educate their children on the ill effects of fastfood and other unhealthy food. A packed lunch would be a better option yet since it would be even more economical, safe and healthy at the same time. For me, it should be a joint effort so that everyone will be aware of the benefits and risks of healthy and unhealthy food choices.
Morgan gave a brief enumeration of the amount of money invested by certain companies for advertising in 2001: McDonald’s $1.4B, Pepsi $1B, Hershey Food $200M and the US Government’s “5 A Day” Campaign $2M. From here, it can be seen how much importance McDonald’s gives to its advertising campaigns just so it could reach more clients, and true enough, it has made the McDonald’s franchise a household name.
The “5 A Day” Campaign launched in 1991 was aimed at increasing the fruit and vegetable consumption of the average American. Ten years after its launching, the budget used for this nationwide program was a small amount of $2 million, which meant lesser information is received by the average consumer.
The glaring discrepancy in the budget allocations for advertising of McDonald’s and the “5 A Day” Campaign is obvious, and it is no wonder then that the health status of most Americans have deteriorated through time. The US Government should allot more budget for this purpose, or at least mobilize the public schools and government institutions to be more active and vigilant in achieving the program’s goals so that the main problem can be addressed.
Seeing the problem of obesity at present and how it affects most Americans, there should be more time given for physical activities so that the health-risks may be lowered. Everyone should be made aware of the negative effects of fastfood products on an individual’s total health condition. As a whole, the movie is very informative and enlightening because although it qualifies as a research or a documentary on a specific topic, it was presented in a light and entertaining manner. The facts and statistics on obesity, fastfood, and advertising as shown throughout the movie aided in further understanding the topic at hand. Also, more studies like these should be conducted so that more people are made aware of the facts.
Works Cited
Spurlock, Morgan, “Super Size Me” The Con, 2004.