Super Size Me (2004)

1. Everything's bigger in America,

2. we've got the biggest cars,

3. the biggest houses, the biggest companies,

4. the biggest food,

5. and, finally, the biggest people.

6. America has now become the fattest nation in the world.

7. Congratulations.

8. Nearly 100 million Americans are today, either overweight

9. or obese.

10. That's more than 60% of all U.S. adults.

11. Since 1980,

12. the total number of overweight and obese Americans has doubled,

13. with twice as many overweight children

14. and three times as many overweight adolescents.

15. The fattest state in America? Mississippi.

16. Where one in four people are obese.

17. I grew up in West Virginia,

18. currently the second fattest state in America.

19. When I was growing up, my mother cooked dinner every single day.

20. Almost all my memories of her are in the kitchen.

21. And we never ate out,

22. only on those few, rare special occasions.

23. Today, families do it all the time,

24. and they're paying for it, not only with their wallets,

25. but with their waistlines.

26. Obesity is now second only to smoking

27. as a major cause of preventable death in America,

28. with over 300,000 deaths per year

29. associated with related illnesses.

30. In 2002, a few Americans got fed up with being overweight

31. and did what we do best.

32. They sued the bastards.

33. taking aim at the fast-food companies

34. and blaming them for their obesity and illnesses,

35. a lawsuit was filed in New York on behalf of two teenage girls,

36. one who was 14 years old, 4'10", and 170 pounds,

37. the other, 19 years old, 5'6", and 270 pounds.

38. The unthinkable had suddenly become reality.

39. People were suing the golden arches for selling them food

40. that most of us know isn't good for you to begin with.

41. Yet each day, one in four Americans

42. visits a fast-food restaurant.

43. And this hunger for fast food isn't just in America.

44. It's happening on a global basis.

45. McDonald's alone operates more than 30,000 joints

46. in over 100 countries on 6 continents

47. and feeds more than 46 million people worldwide every day.

48. That's more than the entire population of Spain.

49. In the United States alone,

50. McDonald's accounts for 43 percent of the total fast-food market.

51. They're everywhere... Walmarts, airports, rest stops,

52. gas stations, train stations, shopping malls,

53. department stores, amusement parts, even hospitals.

54. That's right... hospitals.

55. At least you're close when the coronary kicks in.

56. Lawyers for McDonald's called the suits "frivolous",

57. stating that the dangers of its food are universally known

58. and that these kids can't show that their weight problems

59. and health woes were caused solely by their McDiets.

60. The judge states, however,

61. that if lawyers for the teens can show

62. that McDonald's intends for people to eat its food

63. for every meal of every day

64. and that doing so would be unreasonably dangerous,

65. they may be able to state a claim.

66. Are the food companies solely to blame for this epidemic?

67. Where does personal responsibility stop

68. and corporate responsibility begin?

69. Is fast food really that bad for you?

70. I mean, what would happen if I ate nothing but McDonald's

71. for 30 days straight?

72. Would I suddenly be on the fast track

73. to becoming an obese American?

74. Would it be unreasonably dangerous?

75. Let's find out.

76. I'm ready.

77. Super-size me.

78. I knew if I was going to do this,

79. I would need some serious medical supervision,

80. so I enlisted the help of not one, but three doctors,

81. a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist,

82. and a general practitioner.

83. - You're feeling quite well today, yes? - Quite well.

84. In general, any fatigue or weight loss, weight gain,

85. - any change in your vision? - No, no.

86. No fever, no earache, no cough

87. no shortness of breath, no chest pain...

88. nausea, vomiting, heartburn?

89. And no hospitalizations for illness?

90. Do you take any medications of any sort?

91. I don't. I've just been taking vitamins.

92. - Okay. Any food allergies or anything? -No.

93. There's no heart disease or diabetes or blood pressure

94. or cancer in the immediate family?

95. - My grandfather's had a couple open-heart surgeries. -Um-hmm.

96. - One out of four grandparents is dead. -Yeah.

97. Good genes. That's the important thing.

98. - Any alcohol use? - Now? None.

99. - You don't smoke? - I used to, but I don't.

100. Any drug use at all?

101. Not for a long time.

102. - Are you sexually active at present? - Yes.

103. - A, a, a girlfriend? - Yes.

104. Is there anything we didn't cover?

105. Is there anything else you need to tell me?

106. I don't think so.

107. "Patient is embarking on a one-month McDonald's binge."

108. Very good.

109. You might have something called white coats...

110. 140 over about 95.

111. 130 over 105.

112. 120 over 80.

113. - That's what it is? - Um-hmm.

114. The other guys are stressing me out.

115. You're much more relaxed, right?

116. - I tend to do that to my patients. - See.

117. Swallow, please.

118. Your reflexes are perfect.

119. Good. Back out. Normal.

120. - Say ah. - Ah...

121. - Everything looks pretty normal here. - Good.

122. We'll skip checking for hernias.

123. We're gonna do a rectal exam.

124. I like to be more thorough than that.

125. And I like doctors to be thorough.

126. You're gonna go downstairs and get your bloods drawn.

127. So, the reason we have you fasting

128. is the true cholesterol and glucose number is fasting.

129. So, if you had, like, a bacon, egg, and cheese

130. your cholesterol would be way high,

131. or if you had orange juice, your glucose would be high.

132. Three down.

133. Your blood tests are excellent.

134. Okay, your starting off with a total cholesterol of 168

135. which is less than 200, which is really superb

136. your blood level's fine.

137. - Your iron level is good as well. - Um-hmm.

138. you have no evidence of diabetes.

139. Your fasting blood sugar is very low.

140. The other thing that we looked at were all your electrolytes

141. in terms of salts in your blood,

142. your kidney function, your liver function.

143. They were all perfect.

144. Your triglycerides, which is your building blocks of fat...

145. basically, what you acquire from eating fat...

146. is 43, which is low, which is good.

147. Your general health, you know... I-I-is outstanding.

148. - Great. -Your urinalysis is, is great.

149. So, you're starting off terrific.

150. Um, I think the worst-case scenario

151. is that you increase your triglycerides

152. and your cholesterol level,

153. and if you have any heart disease in the family,

154. or... any... underlying heart disease,

155. you're putting your heart at risk.

156. Uh, I expect to see an increase in your triglycerides,

157. uh, because that won't, can be affected.

158. - You're at 87 now, and I think that will change. -Um-hmm.

159. And I think that's the only thing that will change.

160. - Out of everything? - Out of everything.

161. I mean, you know, there might be some minor variations,

162. but the body is extremely adaptable,

163. and the kidneys will handle any extra salt you're taking in,

164. and your liver will be able to metabolize additional fats.

165. Um, as far as you gaining weight, you probably will.

166. As far as your cholesterol going up, it probably will.

167. Uh, um, as far as you feeling miserable, may be.

168. I don't know.

169. Um, unless you start cheating and just order the salads.

170. I also went to a fancy new York wellness center

171. to meet a registered dietitian who would help track my progress.

172. Okay, let's start with getting your height and weight.

173. - Um, I'm 6'2". - Um-hmm.

174. I weight about 185.

175. For your height, this is a healthy weight.

176. I can tell you that right now.

177. Um, your BMI, which is the body mass index,

178. is within normal limits, which means you're not obese.

179. You're actually at the correct weight.

180. So, what I should do is, I should keep a checklist of the things that I eat

181. - for breakfast, lunch and dinner? - Keep a food log.

182. Your calorie needs are gonna be averaging

183. about 2,500 calories a day.

184. As far as fat goes, for 2,500 calories,

185. you're gonna want about 80 grams of total fat in a day.

186. The saturated fat, which is a component of total fat,

187. you want to have less than 25 grams a day.

188. Don't try to overindulge too much.

189. - Yep. - Good luck, Morgan.

190. - Thanks. - Thank you.

191. Hi, there. I'm Eric Rowley, our exercise physiologist.

192. Great.

193. The official weigh-in...

194. 185 and a half.

195. We'll go through the cardiovascular assessment,

196. and then I'll be able to calculate

197. how much oxygen your muscles can utilize,

198. and that's also an indicator

199. of what type of condition your cardiovascular system is in.

200. All right, good work.

201. I'm gonna use these skin-fold calipers

202. to estimate your body density.

203. You're 11% body fat. that's great.

204. We're gonna measure your flexibility

205. of your hamstrings, your hips, and your lower back.

206. Good, good. very nice.

207. 38 centimeters was your best.

208. And there's a basic you know, old-school test

209. for muscular strength and endurance.

210. 36. Good job.

211. You're above average above average fitness for your age group,

212. definitely, I'd say. So, you're at a good spot right now.

213. More than 60% of Americans get no form of exercise,

214. so for the next 30 days, neither will I.

215. But I'll still have to walk.

216. How much does the average American walk a day?

217. Uh, you know, there's reason to believe

218. we have these pedometers that we put on people,

219. step counters.

220. You could very roughly estimate at about 2,000 steps,

221. because 2,000 would make a mile.

222. And we know that people that work in office settings,

223. um, who drive a car to and from work,

224. who take an elevator up to that office,

225. may take as little as 2,500 or 3,000 steps

226. in their entire day.

227. If you wanted to feel physically like a lot of Americans do,

228. then you'd kinda limit yourself to about 5,000 steps a day.

229. Us New Yorkers, we walk everywhere.

230. We walk to work, to the park, to the store.

231. Most of us don't even own cars.

232. The average New Yorker will walk four to five miles a day...

233. a day!

234. That's a lot of walking.

235. I'll also have the blessing of being close to a food source

236. almost everywhere I go.

237. I walk past three golden arches just on my way to the office,

238. three in just over a mile.

239. There are more Mickey D's in Manhattan

240. than anywhere else in the world.

241. This tiny little island is less than 13 miles long

242. by 2 miles wide, 22.4 square miles,

243. and packed into that area are 83 McDonald's,

244. nearly four per square mile.

245. There are twice as many Mac Shacks

246. as there are Burger Kings,

247. and there are more McDonald's than KFC,

248. Wendy's, Popeye's, and Taco Bell combined.

249. That's a lot of burger.

250. I know he's gonna do it for a month,

251. but I think after a week, he's gonna be really irritated.

252. I think it's gonna affect our relationship.

253. You are a vegan chef?

254. Yes, I'm a vegan chef.

255. Ugh. I just don't know if I can...

256. of course I will. I'll sit next to him while he eats McDonald's.

257. Of course I will.

258. I'm just gonna be rolling my eyes the whole time.

259. I have a vegetable tart

260. and a quinoa and roasted veggie salad

261. artichokes, and a simple green salad,

262. all beautiful, organic, fresh vegetables

263. that you're gonna miss so much.

264. What am I gonna have that's organic?

265. - In the next month? Nothing. - Nothing?

266. You're only gonna have genetically modified potatoes

267. I'm gonna eat as many vegetables as I can tonight.

268. There's plenty here for you.

269. That's really good.

270. - Thanks. -Have they improved their cookies

271. in the last 10 years?

272. Last time I had them, they were like little hockey pucks.

273. I don't know. We'll see.

274. It's uh, it's the first day,

275. and uh, I'm on my way to breakfast.

276. Could I get uh, an egg McMuffin extra value meal?

277. Every 8-year-old's dream right now

278. that I'm getting ready to fulfill.

279. I got my egg McMuffin.

280. That's gonna be the first thing right there.

281. This McDonald's delivers for free.

282. All I did today was leave my apartment,

283. walk down the stairs, and walk to the McDonald's,

284. 1,272 steps.

285. So, we got to go to the corner and we got to get a cab.

286. The cabs are gonna add up in this thing.

287. I can tell already.

288. I got my scorecard,

289. and in here, I had one egg McMuffin.

290. I had one sausage biscuit.

291. Do you eat fast food?

292. Once in a while.

293. - Once in a while. - Yeah? How often?

294. I'd say probably once every two weeks.

295. Ah, three, four times a week maybe.

296. - In France, yes. - Yeah.

297. But here, no. I don't like here.

298. It doesn't sounds very uh... clean.

299. And what's your favorite place?

300. Uh, probably Wendy's.

301. McDo.

302. Taco Bell.

303. Taco Bell.

304. McDonald's is pretty close.

305. Do you ever have uh, super sized cokes?

306. - Uh, no, in France... - No?

307. uh, the small size here, it's a bigger size in France.

308. Even the small size here, I can't drink.

309. There are rules to what's going on here in this whole process.

310. I will only super-size it if they ask me.

311. I can only eat things that are for sale over the counter at McDonald's,

312. water included.

313. If McDonald's doesn't sell it, I can't eat it.

314. I have to have everything on the menu

315. at least once over the next 30 days,

316. and I have to have three squares a day...

317. breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

318. No excuses.

319. Oh, I love Big Macs.

320. See, this is probably the first time in a long time

321. that I've seen a big Mac that looks like the picture,

322. that actually almost looks like the picture.

323. Look at that.

324. Big Macs never look this good.

325. You got to come to Chinatown for the good big Macs.

326. Mmm.

327. You've heard about all these people who are suing these fast-food companies.

328. Yes, I've heard of them.

329. I think it's ridiculous,

330. but it's uh, it's uh, the American way to sue for everything.

331. I'd throw the lawsuit out if I was a judge.

332. And like I was saying, if these fast-food places can put their signs up,

333. if I can walk by them and just totally ignore them

334. and say, "I'm not hungry. I don't need this,"

335. they can do it, too.

336. We don't have to go there. We don't have to shop with them.

337. We can easily go in McDonald's and grab a salad,

338. but we choose not to.

339. Now, if the McDonald's refused them service,

340. they'd be in court again saying, "we were refused service."

341. So you can't win if you try in this world.

342. I think there's a lot of focus on the fast-food companies

343. because they are mentioned more

344. than virtually all the other causes

345. in most of the articles and books and studies

346. about why it's a sudden epidemic.

347. Again, it can't be the neighborhood restaurant.

348. We've had neighborhood restaurants for hundreds of years.

349. It can't be the foods we eat at home.

350. We've been eating at home for hundreds of years.

351. Something is very different.

352. I think the figure is we eat out something like 40% of our meals.

353. John Banzhaf is currently spearheading

354. the attacks against the food industry,

355. advising many of the lawyers who are currently going through the process.

356. People say he's crazy,

357. but that's what they used to say about him

358. when he first sued the tobacco companies...

359. until he won.

360. I think in terms of responsibility,

361. it's fair to point the big gun at McDonald's.

362. McDonald's is one of the biggest

363. but, more importantly, it is the one which,

364. far more than all the others, lures in young children.

365. They have the playgrounds, the closed, indoor playgrounds.

366. Many places, there are no other playgrounds.

367. You've got to take your kid there.

368. So even at two and three and four,

369. those kids are being lured into there.

370. McDonald's is very heavy on birthday parties.

371. They, of course, pioneered the happy meals,

372. now the mighty kids' meals also

373. with those little "gotta have 'em" toys.

374. So they get the kids in.

375. And, of course, the whole clown. McDonald's has the clown.

376. A lot of those ads appeal primarily to kids.

377. There's a cartoon on TV which features him.

378. So they, more than others, lure the kids in.

379. I think all of us are far more concerned about the kids.

380. Another man who is worried about the kids is Samuel Hirsch.

381. He represents the two girls who are suing McDonald's,

382. with much advisement coming from Professor Banzhaf.

383. Why are you suing the fast-food establishment?

384. You mean motives besides monetary recompensation?

385. You mean you want to hear a noble cause? Is that it?

386. Um...

387. I think that fast foods

388. are a major contributor to this epidemic.

389. In 2000, Dr. David Satcher

390. became the first surgeon general

391. to draw attention to the obesity crisis,

392. declaring it a national epidemic.

393. Now, remember, we're super-sizing everything.

394. Uh, you go to any place to buy...

395. Go to any fast food store,

396. and they're trained to tell you to buy a bigger size.

397. For five cents more, you can get the super size.

398. Federal government will define a piece of meat,

399. three ounces of meat, as a sensible portion,

400. and that looks like a deck of cards.

401. Few people would be able to find this deck of cards

402. if they were served a piece of meat, a steak, in a restaurant.

403. It would probably be about four or five times this size.

404. One typical bagel that one is eating

405. that looks something like this

406. is going to comprise five servings of bread.

407. When fast food companies first opened,

408. they generally introduced one size.

409. For example, one size French fries

410. when McDonald's first opened, called "fries."

411. that size fries is now called "small."

412. Medium, large, and super size.

413. That original size is still here.

414. It's got about 200 calories.

415. but the super size is gonna pack in over 600 calories.

416. When Burger King first opened,

417. they had a 12-ounce small and a 16-ounce large.

418. This 12-ounce is now kiddy.

419. The 16-ounce is now the small...

420. the medium, the 32, and the 42

421. and this is across the board with all fast-food places.

422. Cars have introduced larger cup holders

423. to accommodate those huge 7-eleven double gulps,

424. which are 64 ounces, a half gallon,

425. and hold anywhere from 600 to 800 calories,

426. depending on how much ice you put in.

427. A half-gallon of soda?

428. A half-gallon of soda for one person,

429. 48 teaspoons of sugar.

430. - Hello, may I help you? - Yeah, could I get the uh...

431. the double quarter pounder with cheese meal?

432. Large or super size?

433. I think I'm gonna have to go super size.

434. Look at that. Look at that coke.

435. That barely fits in there.

436. Oh, shit!

437. I've got a... Look at that.

438. Look at how big that thing is.

439. Look how big that French fry is.

440. That thing is, like, four feet tall.

441. Double quarter pounder with cheese.

442. More calories than anything.

443. There it is, a little bit of heaven.

444. Mmm!

445. That's a lot of food, man.

446. I'll tell you what...

447. You get all that super sized stuff,

448. that stuff gets super sized, man...

449. Look at that.

450. I just put a...

451. I'm not even halfway done with those fries.

452. Not even halfway.

453. This is like a workout.

454. See, now's the time of the meal

455. when you start getting the McStomachache.

456. You start getting the McTummy.

457. You get the McGurgles in there.

458. You get the McBrick.

459. And then you get the McStomachache.

460. Right now I got, I got some McGas that's rockin'.

461. Are you sweating there?

462. My arms... I feel like I got some McSweats going on.

463. My arms got the McTwitches going in here

464. from all of the sugar that's going in my body right now.

465. I'm feeling a little McCrazy.

466. Just give me a minute.

467. I'm in pure McDonald's heaven.

468. This is gonna be you, like, after every meal.

469. Oh!

470. I'm dying.

471. Oh, God, that looks so nasty.

472. It's making me puke.

473. Ohhh...

474. You all right?

475. Yeah.

476. I believe we live in a toxic-food

477. and physical-inactivity environment.

478. That is, we live in an environment

479. that almost guarantees that we become sick.

480. Not 100% of people become sick, but the numbers of people who do

481. are growing and growing and growing.

482. I don't believe that "toxic" is too strong a word, either,

483. because this... An epidemic of obesity

484. where 60% of the population is suffering

485. and record numbers of children are having this

486. is a crisis by any standard.

487. The toxic environment is constant access

488. to cheap, fat-laden foods.

489. It's gas stations that sell more candy and sodas than gas.

490. It's a nation where there are more than 3 million

491. soda vending machines.

492. That's one for every 97 Americans.

493. It's a world where people depend completely on their cars

494. for transportation

495. and where walking has become such a chore

496. that we rely on machines to do it for us.

497. My stomach feels horrible this morning.

498. It doesn't feel good at all.

499. There we go.

500. I'm getting this really weird feeling right in my midsection,

501. basically in my penis right now, and it's just like this...

502. It's really freaky.

503. - That is very odd. - Yeah.

504. It could be from the caffeine,

505. but I'm not, you know, I couldn't really pinpoint that 100%.

506. I have a delivery for Mr. Morgan.

507. $13.39.

508. $13.39.

509. I made it over the three-day hump.

510. You know how when you quit smoking...

511. I don't know how many of you out there smoke cigarettes, but you should stop.

512. I quit smoking.

513. And there's the, it's the three-day hump.

514. Three-day... it's the three-day hump

515. when you quit smoking cigarettes.

516. If you can make it over those three days

517. without smoking one cigarette,

518. if you can make it past day one, two, three,

519. if you can make it over the hump, you're fine.

520. Same thing with this. I made it past day three.

521. I'm all right.

522. Left unabated, obesity would overtake

523. smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in this country.

524. I was at this meal, and it came up

525. that one of the people was a smoker,

526. and somebody else at the table started hectoring them about it.

527. "What's the matter with you? Don't you know how bad it is for you?

528. It'll do this, that, and the other thing to you, and you really should stop."

529. And the smoker, rather than saying, "Fuck you",

530. which you know, is mind your own business.

531. Which, I think, is the appropriate response, was abashed and defensive.

532. And he's like "Oh, I tried to quit," and, "I'm gonna try again,"

533. and "you're right, you're right," and so on.

534. At that same table, there was a quite large woman,

535. and I was wondering, what if this guy,

536. instead of confronting the smoker,

537. had said to the large woman,

538. "what's the matter with you, you fat pig?

539. "don't you know how dangerous it is to be so overweight?

540. "Stop eating, for god's sake. And don't you dare

541. get dessert, and what's the matter with you?"

542. Uh, same logic.

543. I'd be hard-pressed to find a distinction

544. between those two examples.

545. Okay, so, one is now socially acceptable,

546. to hector smokers,

547. but the other one isn't quite yet.

548. So the question is, at what point will it become acceptable

549. to publicly hector fat people

550. uh, in, in the way that smokers are publicly hectored?

551. A secret study by one of the tobacco companies

552. had the ominous title, something like,

553. "brand imprinting for later actuation in life."

554. They would buy the little toy cigarettes,

555. and they'd start play-smoking them at 4 or 5 or 6.

556. Wouldn't even notice the pack.

557. If you asked them what pack it was, they wouldn't notice it,

558. but the theory was that somewhere, it's buried in here,

559. and then when they get to the age where they're smoking,

560. without even realizing it,

561. they're going for that pack that they recognize

562. because it had those nice feelings for them when they were little kids.

563. And the same way here, young, they're satisfied, it's nice,

564. they remember the warm feelings

565. of playing and getting the toy,

566. being with mom and dad.

567. It's gonna carry through.

568. That's why when I have kids,

569. every time I drive by a fast-food restaurant,

570. I'm gonna punch my kid in the face

571. Then we'll never want to come.

572. One of the most disturbing things uh, to me

573. is that in the last 20 to 25 years,

574. we've actually seen a doubling

575. of overweight and obese children and adolescents.

576. And this weight gain has been linked

577. to countless health problems later in life, such as...

578. In fact, if current trends continue

579. one out of every three children born in the year 2000

580. will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

581. At least 17 million Americans now have type 2 diabetes,

582. about one out of every 20 people.

583. If the diabetes starts before the age of 15,

584. you lose somewhere between 17 and 27 years of life-span.

585. According to the new research,

586. the direct medical costs associated with diabetes have doubled.

587. The direct medical costs have doubled in the past five years,

588. from $44 billion in 1997 to $92 billion in 2002.

589. Somewhere in the neighborhood of about 20% of the obese children

590. have elevated abnormal liver function tests,

591. and we have now started a study

592. where we're biopsying these children

593. to see what their livers actually look like under the microscope,

594. and half of them have evidence of scarring of the liver,

595. fibrosis of the liver, the early stages of cirrhosis.

596. So, when these children end up being adults,

597. uh, they're going to end up,

598. if they don't change their uh, their eating and exercise habits,

599. are gonna end up with liver failure uh,

600. and, well, either transplant or death.

601. Did you want lettuce and mayonnaise on all of them?

602. I think it's very, very hard for overweight teenagers

603. because you're always going to see

604. the thin, pretty, popular girls,

605. and you can't help but look at them

606. and think, "I wish I was her," or, "I wish I could have that."

607. And it's depressing. It makes you feel like crap.

608. I mean, that's just, that's just how it is,

609. and, and of course it's hard being a teenager

610. because you see all the girls in the Cosmo girl

611. are teen people, and they're all beautiful,

612. and you think, "Aren't I supposed to look like that?"

613. And it's just not, it's not realistic.

614. It's not a realistic way to live.

615. So, without further ado, let's welcome Jared Fogle.

616. My, my good thing was never smoking.

617. It was never drinking.

618. Obviously, it wasn't doing drugs.

619. My big vice was food,

620. and before I knew it, I wound up weighing 425 pounds.

621. I brought in a present for you,

622. my old pants that are now made famous in all the subway commercials.

623. You're welcome.

624. This is my daughter, Victoria.

625. She's an eighth-grade honor student,

626. and you're a real inspiration to the kids.

627. I really appreciate that.

628. That's one of the greatest, I mean, you know, as I said

629. I started putting my weight on as you guys know, about third or fourth grade.

630. And she was real tiny when she was littler...

631. - Sure. -... and it's been in our family.

632. In fact, I had a great-grandfather

633. that died and was buried in a piano box

634. years and years ago, so it's a history...

635. Absolutely.

636. And so, she's been trying to maintain her weight.

637. It's tough. it's always a challenge.

638. I know, and as you know as a kid, it's awfully hard these days—

639. And, and kids are not always kind.

640. No, not at all. And I know that firsthand.

641. And it's uh, you know, the problem is, the world's not gonna change

642. You have to change.

643. I guess it's kind of cool to know somebody

644. or be able to listen to somebody

645. talk about actually being where I am right now,

646. and it's kind of hard

647. because I can't afford to go there every single day

648. and buy a sandwich two times a day,

649. and that's what he's talking about, like that's the only solution.

650. Like, that's what he said worked the best,

651. but I can't do that.

652. And I've tried other ways, and it's kind of hurt my body

653. from doing other ways that I've tried to do.

654. And it's kind of hard to, like, look at someone

655. who says, "Hey, I've done it. So, you can do it."

656. but it's not that easy.

657. I'd been sick as a kid.

658. I grew up eating a lot of ice cream,

659. more than you can believe.

660. We had an ice-cream-cone-shaped swimming pool in our backyard.

661. We had a commercial freezer with not only all 31 flavors in it,

662. but all experimental flavors that were under development.

663. And I made myself the official taster.

664. I had to approve everything, in my mind.

665. And I loved it. What kid wouldn't?

666. I mean, I literally had unlimited ice cream.

667. I ate ice cream for breakfast.

668. But I was sick a lot.

669. And I wasn't very athletic.

670. You know, I was really ill.

671. And I didn't feel good.

672. So I would kind of appease that by eating more ice cream.

673. You can see how the vicious cycle would take place.

674. One of the triggering factors for me was my uncle,

675. Burt Baskin, my dad's partner and brother-in-law,

676. co-founder of the company, died of a heart attack. I think he was 51.

677. You know, my uncle weighed about 240 pounds,

678. heavyset fellow.

679. And when he died, as a young man, I asked my dad,

680. "Do you think there could be a connection

681. between his fatal heart attack and the amount of ice cream he'd eat?"

682. My father said, "No, his ticker just got tired

683. and stopped working."

684. By this time, he had manufactured and sold more ice cream

685. than any human being that had ever lived on this planet.

686. He didn't want to think that the product was hurting anybody,

687. that it had contributed to the death

688. of his brother-in-law and partner, and, in many ways, best friend.

689. I mean, no way.

690. Ben Cohen, the Ben of "Ben and Jerry's",

691. a couple years ago, had a quintuple bypass procedure

692. at the age of 49.

693. My uncle, Burt Baskin of Baskin-Robbins,

694. dies at the age of 51 of a heart attack.

695. My father, Irv Robbins, the other founder of the company,

696. ended up with very serious diabetes.

697. You can't deny these links.

698. You just can't.

699. Yeah, could I get the two-cheeseburger meal?

700. Okay, super sized.

701. Second time.

702. Mmm.

703. Thank you, sir.

704. Thanks, man.

705. After five days on the McDonald's diet,

706. what I did was I ran um, three days' worth of food analysis.

707. the needs for you to maintain weight at the 185

708. that you were at when you came in, 186 pounds

709. um, was approximately 2,500 calories. Okay?

710. - Okay. -Right now you're getting almost 5,000 calories a day,

711. the average being 4,986.

712. I would love for you to take a multivitamin.

713. - McDonald's doesn't sell multivitamins.

714. Well, here's my new advice,

715. is just kind of minimize the meals.

716. A nice substitute for the hot fudge sundae would be the yogurt.

717. That is true, if you get the snack size,

718. five ounces.

719. If you get the regular size without granola,

720. it contains nearly as many calories as a strawberry sundae.

721. With granola, it has more calories

722. than the hot fudge or caramel sundae.

723. And if that doesn't make you think twice about the parfaits,

724. then how about this?

725. Hey, there's a big, nappy hair in it!

726. That's disgusting. I'm gonna show you how we do it.

727. You go like this. We go...

728. Oh, look, it's long, too! Did you see that!

729. Oh, that's so gross!

730. Only the finest at McDonald's.

731. - Here we are at 190. - It was 186 last week.

732. 192, 193, 194.

733. No.

734. We have to stop everything. I don't believe it.

735. Hundred and ninety-five pounds.

736. - Wait. -It can't be. We have to redo this.

737. - That's zero. - That thing is zeroed.

738. Second try.

739. Eighty-eight, 92, 94.

740. You've gained, actually, about 5% of your body weight.

741. Losing and gaining weight that fast is not healthy.

742. Do you eat fast food?

743. - Yes, I do. - Yeah?

744. Unfortunately.

745. Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. love it, love it, love It!

746. Love fast food.

747. Yeah, how often do you guys eat it?

748. Every week?

749. Oh, maybe once or twice a week.

750. We're gonna go hit up McDonald's in a little while.

751. At least two times today

752. you know we ain't had no meal yet today.

753. We was just pointing towards McDonald's.

754. I get the number two, the cheeseburger

755. - um, with the super size coke and fries.

756. Super-size it up! Make it bacon, 69 cents.

757. That's what they say. "Make it bacon."

758. - Make it bacon, baby. -How often do you think people should eat fast food?

759. I don't know if they should eat it at all.

760. I don't know if I should, I don't know about what they should do.

761. Oh, that's baloney!

762. It's baloney!

763. What they need to do is 25 minutes on that treadmill,

764. work out a little, do some push-ups.

765. If you do some push-ups when you eat,

766. you'll keep your weight down. See, I keep my weight down.

767. - I hit them push-ups and everything. - It's baloney.

768. Keep myself cool.

769. Who has time to do that? we have to work.

770. We have to take care of kids. We have to clean.

771. So you exercise, you run after your kids.

772. These are the first McNuggets I've had

773. in this whole exciting tour of duty.

774. Look at that glistening in the sun.

775. Mmm.

776. Boy, that is miserable.

777. I'm not sure what portion of the chicken that's shaped like that.

778. I'm guessing this is the foot n the chicken.

779. — In the lawsuit against them,

780. McDonald's stated in their own defense

781. that it's a matter of common knowledge

782. that any processing that its foods undergo

783. serve to make them more harmful than unprocessed foods.

784. Case in point, McNuggets.

785. Originally created from old chickens

786. that could no longer lay eggs,

787. McNuggets are now made from chickens

788. with unusually large breasts.

789. They're stripped from the bone

790. and ground up into a sort of chicken mash,

791. which is then combined with all sorts of stabilizers and preservatives,

792. pressed into familiar shapes,

793. breaded, deep-fried, freeze-dried,

794. and then shipped to a McDonald's near you.

795. Judge Robert Sweet called them

796. "a McFrankenstein creation of various elements

797. not utilized by the home cook."

798. So, for the past couple days,

799. which I haven't shared with everybody,

800. it's been a new thing, is I've started to have, like, some chest...

801. not chest pains, but, like, pressure.

802. You know, I feel like I got pressure on my chest.

803. So, uh, I figure that's probably not a good thing.

804. But neither's eating all this, so...

805. I tell you. I haven't smelled bad yet.

806. - Yeah, you have. - No, I haven't.

807. - You just don't know how bad you smell. -No.

808. Look at that fish fillet.

809. Look at this thing.

810. Oh, God, that looks nasty, man.

811. Isn't that horrible?

812. Obviously, that's been sitting around all day.

813. That, the Filet-o-Fish.

814. Ugh.

815. Shit!

816. How can I help you?

817. Can I get the uh, double quarter pounder with cheese value meal?

818. Okay, thank you. $4.86.

819. I don't feel good today.

820. Not that I feel sick,

821. but I just feel really depressed,

822. and you know, for no reason.

823. I mean, things are going great.

824. I've had a good day.

825. I just feel really...

826. Yeah.

827. It's not real hard eating this food all the time,

828. just because it tastes good, it makes you feel good.

829. I really noticed I'll eat some,

830. and just a little while later, I'll be hungry again,

831. and I'll want more, more, more, more.

832. I'm pretty bored with their menu.

833. It only took me nine days.

834. But it's pretty good otherwise.

835. Nine days.

836. - How many?

837. - How many's the question.

838. We always ask how many, and he holds up how many fingers.

839. That's it. It's always the, "How many"?

840. - It's just one, one for now. - Just one?

841. As soon as I got my first car,

842. this is the first place I came to.

843. Uh, I bought three Big Macs, ate them out there.

844. I enjoyed them so much,

845. and I came back about 5:00 p.m. at night, bought three more,

846. ate them out there,

847. came back around 11:00 p.m. before they closed,

848. and ate three more,

849. so the first day I came here, I ate nine Big Macs,

850. and it was like I couldn't get enough hamburger at that time,

851. and Big Macs are so good,

852. so I ate 265 in the first month.

853. How many do you eat a day, usually?

854. Usually it's two a day.

855. Okay, now, last year, I ate 741 last year.

856. Okay, well, that's more than two a day,

857. so that means there's days I had three,

858. but that's because they're getting smaller.

859. Probably 90% of my, my uh, solid diet is probably Big Macs.

860. That parking spot, that's where I asked her if she wanted to get married.

861. I mean, this place is special for a lot of reasons.

862. I had one whopper in my life...

863. - Yeah. - 1984.

864. A guy gave me 5 bucks to eat a whopper.

865. Once I won it after I ate the whopper,

866. took my 5 bucks over to McDonald's, got some Big Macs.

867. —I always make fun of people at work.

868. They say, "I'm gaining weight." I say, "Well, you should try the Gorske diet."

869. - They don't like that. - They don't like that.

870. Man, this is a perfect sandwich, you know.

871. At least for me, it is.

872. - Mmm, there it is, bite number 19,000. -Yep.

873. The wife says when she's got to put them in a blender, it ends.

874. —You know, that's what she told me.

875. Big Mac smoothies.

876. America's been McDonaldized, you know.

877. It's been franchised out.

878. It's like one of those "Flintstones" cartoons

879. where they had something rolling in the background.

880. You kept seeing the same buildings go by. It's like K-Mart, Walmart, McDonald's,

881. K-Mart, Walmart, Wendy's, K-Mart.

882. And it's like you have no sense of where you're at anymore.

883. The way I look at it is Cezanne was inspired

884. by the mountain he saw out his window,

885. and when I look out my window, I see no mountains.

886. I just see billboards and advertisements,

887. so I use that as my inspiration.

888. The average American child

889. sees 10,000 food advertisements per year on television.

890. Ninety-five percent of those are for sugared cereals,

891. soft drinks, fast foods, or candy.

892. A parent who eats every meal every day

893. for the whole year with their child

894. and at every meal gives a very compelling nutrition message

895. and can bring in cartoon characters and Michael Jordan,

896. so instead of selling McDonald's,

897. he sells oranges

898. and Britney spears, instead of selling Pepsi

899. will, will sell radishes or lettuce or something...

900. that parents will have 1,000 cracks at their child,

901. compared to 10,000 for the food industry.

902. So it's not a fair fight.

903. Now, by the time kids are able to speak,

904. most of them can say "McDonald's."

905. I'm gonna show you some pictures,

906. and I want you to tell me who they are.

907. Okay.

908. Who's that?

909. You don't know?

910. George Washington.

911. Yeah, who is he?

912. He, he was the fourth President.

913. He freed the slaves.

914. And he could never tell a lie.

915. Who's that?

916. Don't know.

917. - I don't know. - You don't know?

918. No.

919. I don't know.

920. George W. Bush?

921. No. That's a good guess, though.

922. Who is this?

923. I don't know.

924. Goldilocks?

925. I forgot the name, but I think I know.

926. Yeah? Where have you seen her?

927. That picture is on the sign.

928. - Wendy. - Nice.

929. Who's that?

930. McDonald, Ronald McDonald.

931. - Who is it? - McDonald.

932. What does he do?

933. He was helping people at the cash register.

934. He works at McDonald's.

935. I love their pancakes and sausage.

936. He brings every, all his friends to McDonald's

937. for a happy meal.

938. - Where have you seen him? -On television, on the commercials.

939. He's the character that made McDonald's,

940. and he does a lot of funny stuff on TV.

941. Companies spend billions

942. making sure you know their product.

943. In 2001, on direct media advertising,

944. that's radio, television, and print,

945. McDonald's spent $1.4 billion worldwide.

946. On direct media advertising,

947. Pepsi spent more than $1 billion.

948. To advertise its candy,

949. Hershey foods spent under a mere $200 million internationally.

950. In its peak year, the "5 a day" fruit and vegetable campaign's

951. total advertising budget in all media

952. was a lowly $2 million,

953. 100 times less than just the direct media budget

954. of one candy company.

955. Think about the way food is marketed.

956. T-shirts, coupons, toys for children,

957. giveaways in fast-food places, place mats,

958. I mean, just all of the different ways

959. in which food marketing is ubiquitous.

960. The most heavily advertised foods are consumed the most.

961. No surprise.

962. Thank you. Come again.

963. Welcome to McDonald's!

964. Tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar,

965. high-fructose corn syrup,

966. high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup.

967. That means sugar.

968. I'm gonna move over to my salad shaker.

969. I feel a little sick to my stomach.

970. This is the best part of the day,

971. when I get to be fat on the bed with my quart of coke.

972. Mm-mm.

973. People eat out a lot,

974. and so if there aren't healthy foods available at restaurants,

975. and there isn't good nutrition information,

976. it makes eating out difficult.

977. McDonald's says nutrition information

978. for all their products is available on-line,

979. but according to the 2000 U.S. census,

980. more than half of all U.S. homes

981. still don't have Internet access.

982. So, what are these people supposed to do?

983. Go to the stores for nutrition information?

984. Is that information even there?

985. I went to find out.

986. Do you guys have any nutrition fact sheets?

987. Do you guys have one of those?

988. The things that fold out and have nutrition info?

989. There aren't any over there?

990. - Or where would they be? Up front? - Yeah, they should be.

991. But they got lots of info about "Dora the explorer live!"

992. I don't have any in front.

993. - Let me check in the back, okay? - That's cool. Thank you.

994. - Just give me one second. I can't find the booklet. -Okay.

995. You can use the one on the wall.

996. But you don't have ones you can take with you?

997. - No. -Do you guys have one on the wall?

998. No sir, they only have like, fliers now.

999. We had one before. They don't put it up no more.

1000. - They don't post this any more? Why not? -I don't know.

1001. Only half the McDonald's in Manhattan

1002. had the nutrition info posted on the wall,

1003. some had the takeaway nutrition charts,

1004. and one in four had no information whatsoever.

1005. This nice manager brought me the nutrition wall chart

1006. from the basement.

1007. Thank you... You don't have one that I could take with me, like a takeaway?

1008. Do you know when you'll have some of the paper ones again?

1009. No.

1010. John Banzhaf and I looked all over this McDonald's in Washington

1011. for any nutritional information.

1012. And then we found it.

1013. - Ah-ha! - Here we go.

1014. Behind here. You'd never see it.

1015. It's right back there.

1016. You can't argue that people should exercise personal responsibility

1017. and then not give them the information on which to base it.

1018. I got my chicken group.

1019. There's no chicken group.

1020. - That's my cholesterol group. - It's protein.

1021. - I got my protein group. - Carbohydrates.

1022. I got my meat group.

1023. You got meat, meat, sugar, and fat.

1024. I officially had to loosen my belt the other day from...

1025. —I had to go a notch lower.

1026. - One notch? - One notch.

1027. It's scary.

1028. - I'm an old pro at this now. - Right.

1029. - You'll get sick of this, too, though.

1030. Your girlfriend must be loving you.

1031. - She hates me.

1032. - All right, take care. - Thank you. Bye-bye.

1033. I averaged out all the calories for the last nine days,

1034. and you're eating... You're still eating

1035. over 200% of what your needs are.

1036. I suggest you cut out all the liquids

1037. that you're drinking from McDonald's, except for water.

1038. A lot of people who lose 10%, if they're obese,

1039. and they lose 10% of their body weight, it's it's beneficial.

1040. It can be beneficial in terms of, you know, blood pressure and so on,

1041. Um, so gaining 10% of your body weight

1042. maybe could be equally non-beneficial.

1043. Here we go. Second weigh-in.

1044. What do you think, Eric? 203?

1045. - About 202, 203, yeah. - 203?

1046. I think you almost got 10% of your body weight gained,

1047. so you've pretty much gained 17 pounds

1048. in 12 days.

1049. - You look like it. - You better slow down.

1050. I'm telling you, don't drink your calories.

1051. I told him no more shakes, no more coke, no more double burgers.

1052. The staff here's calling you "burger boy."

1053. It's starting to get dangerous now, man.

1054. I'm getting nervous for you.

1055. The one place where the impact of our fast-food world

1056. has become more and more evident is in our nation's schools.

1057. Can I get a shot of your lunch right there?

1058. This is where schools turn a blind eye.

1059. The student with the french fries

1060. probably brought a lunch with real food.

1061. The girl with the chips is probably sharing them with someone else.

1062. Out of sight, out of mind.

1063. Barbara Brown is the field representative for Sodexo,

1064. one of the countless lowest bidders

1065. that school districts have farmed outthe feeding of your children to.

1066. Sodexho services more than 400 K-12 school districts nationwide every day,

1067. providing quality food like little Debbie snack cakes,

1068. Gatorade, and candy bars to your children.

1069. They also operate prisons

1070. and feed thousands of inmates worldwide.

1071. Part of our position is that we're hoping

1072. that through nutrition education,

1073. the students will learn to make the right food choices

1074. without restricting, uh, what they can purchase.

1075. At this middle school in Beckley, West Virginia,

1076. the school lunches don't have the flair they do in Illinois.

1077. This school does not outsource their food service,

1078. but they are on the federal school lunch program,

1079. providing USDA reimbursable meals to the students,

1080. most of which are reheated, reconstituted packaged foods.

1081. Some days the amount of calories in each meal tops 1,000.

1082. So, the USDA sends this food for you to prepare for kids.

1083. Right. Well, not all of it, now.

1084. You've got sloppy joe bar-b-que sauce with pork.

1085. From the government.

1086. Whatever happened to cooks actually cooking?

1087. I don't know what happened. Too many whiny people.

1088. Yeah?

1089. They don't want to work hard.

1090. It's easy to come in here. This is the best tool we got right here,

1091. box opener.

1092. - That's your chef's tool, the box cutter. - That's it.

1093. - Open up a box, serve it, give it to them. -Yeah.

1094. - Let's look at the things that are cooked. -Uh, okay.

1095. Here we go Here's a menu.

1096. - Wednesday. - Mashed potatoes.

1097. Ham. Chili will be homemade.

1098. The chili will be homemade.

1099. And what about the tomato soup?

1100. Uh, Campbell's.

1101. Meatballs?

1102. - Comes in— -Comes in a box. You heat it up.

1103. Out of the course of an entire month,

1104. six out of 36.

1105. - That's right. -You're only cooking six out of 36 meals?

1106. Appleton Central Alternative High School

1107. is filled with students who have truancy and behavioral problems.

1108. But they've turned things around.

1109. Not through discipline, but through diet.

1110. We were fortunate to, uh, kind of stumble across

1111. this healthy program as a result of, uh, some contact

1112. with Natural Oven and Bakery of Manitowoc, Wisconsin,

1113. and they believe in low-fat, low-sugar,

1114. non-chemically processed foods

1115. that are free of dyes and preservatives,

1116. uh, full of, uh, whole grains,

1117. a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.

1118. We do no beef here at all,

1119. and then it's the method of preparation,

1120. where we don't fry.

1121. A lot of baking and then just fresh preparation,

1122. as opposed to opening cans or thawing things out from the box.

1123. We got rid of candy machines, soda machines,

1124. brought in bottled water, and it was just a situation

1125. where we saw a major change in the kids.

1126. You know, if you walk through these halls, and you're here,

1127. these do not look like at-risk, out-of-control kids.

1128. Their behaviors are better.

1129. Uh, they seem to be more focused.

1130. Uh, teachers will tell you that they get more out of them in the class.

1131. Keep in mind, this is not a private school.

1132. These are the "trouble kids" of the public school system

1133. in Appleton, Wisconsin, that are eating so well.

1134. and it costs about the same

1135. as any other school lunch program.

1136. So my question is, why isn't everyone doing this?

1137. There's an awful lot of resistance

1138. from the junk food companies that make huge profits off schools at the present time.

1139. They don't want to get kicked out of the school system.

1140. They want to be there to addict the children for life.

1141. The soft drink companies, especially, boast about

1142. how they're contributing to America's education,

1143. but what they're doing

1144. is draining money from the community

1145. rather than contributing money to the community

1146. because the soft drink companies aren't pumping

1147. those dollars into the machines.

1148. It's the children in the community

1149. who are getting the money from their parents,

1150. and instead of that money going directly to education,

1151. the soft drink companies are taking a cut of it

1152. and walking away rich as a consequence.

1153. We just banned soda in our school district,

1154. and the sugar here shows you how much sugar a student will drink

1155. in a week of just soda.

1156. Um, forget about the rest of the food they eat.

1157. And some of these companies are really opposing the ban

1158. for reasons of that we would lose revenue.

1159. And it's not about money.

1160. It's not about economics. It's about health.

1161. Ooh.

1162. The McDonald's Texas home-style burger meal.

1163. That's a, uh, that's a local specialty.

1164. So it's kind of like a big 'n' tasty?

1165. Yes, except the big 'n' tasty comes with mayonnaise.

1166. Comes with mayo... Oh, then, you know what?

1167. I need the McDonald's Texas home-style burger meal, please.

1168. - Would you like to super-size it today? - Oh, yes, I would.

1169. - Do a lot of people super-size it? - Yes.

1170. Yeah, say you asked five people.

1171. How many of those five do it?

1172. Actually, I get mostly all of them.

1173. Mostly all of them? So you're batting about 100%?

1174. I guess.

1175. See that? She's that good.

1176. Deborah's that good.

1177. First meal inside the restaurant that I went in to get,

1178. and they asked me to super-size it.

1179. We're gonna keep a little tabs,

1180. see how many times they ask me to super-size it here in Texas,

1181. 'cause Texas, out of the top 15 fattest cities in America,

1182. Texas has five.

1183. Here we are, Houston, Texas, fattest city in America,

1184. getting my first breakfast.

1185. Hi, can I help you, sir?

1186. When it comes to the topic of obesity,

1187. many people are quick to point the finger

1188. at various foods and food companies,

1189. but the grocery manufacturers of America,

1190. a Washington, D.C.-based lobby group,

1191. whose mission is to advance the interests

1192. of the food, beverage, and consumer products industry,

1193. are quick to shift the focus away

1194. from the companies they represent

1195. and to remind everyone that there's more at work here

1196. than just eating poorly.

1197. We believe very strongly in our industry,

1198. and in other industries, I think you'll find

1199. there's a growing consensus

1200. that the solution lies in good education.

1201. We have to get good information to parents

1202. so that they can teach their children

1203. better exercise and nutrition habits

1204. and so they can lead the healthy lifestyles.

1205. We don't teach physical education in schools anymore.

1206. In the U.S., only one state

1207. requires mandatory physical education for grades K-12.

1208. It's also one of The fattest, Illinois.

1209. Got enough for... You got a heart rate?

1210. Phil Lawler is the phys ed teacher at Madison Junior High School,

1211. home of the soaring war hawks,

1212. the snack-ridden school lunches we saw earlier,

1213. and one of the most well-executed

1214. physical education programs in the country.

1215. Supported mostly by fund-raising and parent involvement,

1216. Lawler has created a role model for instructors

1217. and school districts nationwide.

1218. When's the last time you heard of a

1219. science class fund-raising to get their labs?

1220. Eventually, society has to step up to the plate

1221. and say, "This is important.

1222. We should have daily physical education

1223. and equip it properly."

1224. We have to say, "Our greatest strength

1225. is the resource of our young people."

1226. That's our future,

1227. and the way we're treating our resources right now,

1228. we're running into some serious problems with that.

1229. I've always said we've never had healthcare in this country.

1230. we've only had "sick care."

1231. I think daily physical education is the only place out there

1232. that's really offering a solution.

1233. When I start the music,

1234. you are gonna begin traveling through general space.

1235. You will go back to your spot,

1236. and I will tell you a body shape.

1237. Watch out for other...

1238. People!

1239. Round!

1240. Good job.

1241. How many days a week do the kids here at this school get to go to gym?

1242. - Once. - One day a week.

1243. One day a week. For 45 minutes.

1244. - Is that enough? - No. Nowhere close.

1245. Not when the surgeon general recommends that, at minimum,

1246. you need 30 minutes of physical activity a day

1247. to maintain your weight and a healthy well-being.

1248. So, once a week is nowhere close.

1249. In 2001, President Bush announced his presidency

1250. with sweeping education reform.

1251. The "no child left behind" act would now hold states accountable

1252. for not having students who met minimum education requirements.

1253. Apparently, we were not only the fattest nation in the world,

1254. but we were quickly becoming the stupid est.

1255. It may be sending a very difficult message for schools.

1256. One of the reasons recess is being cut back

1257. in elementary schools, as I said earlier...

1258. That's being cut out so they can prepare for the tests.

1259. and something I've said to a couple of groups, it's interesting.

1260. We could end up with youngsters who can read, but who are fat.

1261. So we have "fat readers."

1262. The more we put mandates on the school,

1263. to be very myopic in their focus,

1264. we mitigate against all of these other areas

1265. where they should be devoting time and energy,

1266. including phys ed, nutrition, health.

1267. These are all the things being cut out.

1268. Who in here can tell me what a calorie is?

1269. Something you should watch.

1270. Something you should watch. You got that right.

1271. Is it the fat that goes through your, um...

1272. What's a calorie?

1273. Oh, Jesus.

1274. A calorie is an increment of, um...

1275. Ugh.

1276. Um, that's a good question.

1277. Most of us know what a calorie actually is.

1278. I don't know. Oh, wait.

1279. Is a calorie some part of fat? Like... I don't know.

1280. Uh...

1281. It's something that builds up the fat in your body. Calories are not good.

1282. It's the amount of...

1283. - See, I don't know.

1284. I want to say it's the amount of calories in a calorie. Don't know.

1285. I never pay no mind to what calories are.

1286. I just eat when I'm hungry, and that's it.

1287. If you can tell me what a calorie is, go ahead.

1288. A calorie is a measure of the energy content of food,

1289. and a calorie, the kind that you usually see

1290. when you see the caloric content on food labels,

1291. one calorie is the amount of energy

1292. that's needed to raise the temperature of a liter of water

1293. by one degree centigrade.

1294. Well said.

1295. Could I get a bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle?

1296. Hmm.

1297. Smells like a little pancake.

1298. Mmm. Tastes like a little pancake.

1299. Look at that.

1300. I haven't walked a half-mile a day since we've been h ere.

1301. No wonder everything's bigger in Texas

1302. If you're inside, stay there.

1303. The blizzard of 2003 isn't over yet.

1304. I got my lunch.

1305. I got my dinner.

1306. Never have to leave the house.

1307. I'm not gonna completely become vegan

1308. just because you want me to.

1309. I'm not saying you should do it because I want you to.

1310. I'm saying you need to think about

1311. what you believe is a system

1312. that it is corrupt and immoral and wrong and hurtful,

1313. but you're gonna be a part of it.

1314. Where is the disconnect there?

1315. Why don't you make that choice?

1316. Why don't I make the choice to not eat meat?

1317. Yes.

1318. - Um— - Because you like it.

1319. - 'Cause I like— - 'Cause it tastes good

1320. I like bacon. I love pork chops.

1321. Ham is the greatest thing ever.

1322. I'm sure heroin is awesome. I'm sure it's great.

1323. Heroine and ham are in completely different categories.

1324. I'm sorry, but ham and heroin are not the same thing.

1325. They're not.

1326. They're not.

1327. I could be strung out on ham for days and be okay.

1328. - You are a little strung out. - And I am strung out on ham.

1329. It's hard for me to watch him go through this,

1330. I got to tell you.

1331. I worry about his health.

1332. He's exhausted by the end of the day, just so tired.

1333. He gets home really late from work...

1334. and he gets all jacked up on sugar and caffeine,

1335. and then he crashes.

1336. And then, when we do have sex, I got to tell you,

1337. he's not quite as energetic as he used to be.

1338. I have to be on top.

1339. Otherwise, he, uh...

1340. You know he gets tired easily.

1341. I think the saturated fats

1342. are starting to impede the blood flow to his penis,

1343. and he's having a hard time, you know, getting it up.

1344. He does, totally.

1345. It's still good, but it's definitely a big difference.

1346. There's definitely a difference.

1347. I can tell.

1348. Ugh.

1349. I feel horrible today.

1350. My headache's coming back again.

1351. It feels like somebody's yanking on the tendons behind my eyes.

1352. My body officially hates me.

1353. All the vitamins that you see here,

1354. vitamin E, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Riacin, and so on,

1355. are all under 50% of what you need.

1356. You're getting a lot of carbohydrates,

1357. and I know, clearly, that those are all refined carbohydrates

1358. because those are coming from the buns, biscuits, hash browns. Okay?

1359. And the sugar.

1360. let's not forget the most refined carbohydrate of all,

1361. which is coming from your milkshakes and your coke.

1362. In fact, there are only seven items

1363. on the McDonald's menu that contain no sugar whatsoever.

1364. French fries, chicken McNuggets, hash browns, sausage,

1365. diet coke, coffee and iced tea.

1366. Everything else, even the salads, contain sugar.

1367. I'm telling you, 202.

1368. - Yay, you lost weight! - I lost a pound!

1369. Oh, thank God.

1370. Muscle weighs more than fat.

1371. You might have lost some muscle mass and gained some fat mass.

1372. I lost a pound. Let's go get something to eat.

1373. I was feeling bad in the car, feeling like shit, really.

1374. I was feeling really, really sick and unhappy.

1375. I started eating.

1376. I feel great.

1377. I feel really good now.

1378. I feel so good, it's crazy.

1379. Isn't that right, baby?

1380. Yeah, you're crazy, all right.

1381. One fifty over 90.

1382. The headaches might even be hypertensive headaches, but they're probably not.

1383. They're probably related to you know, blood sugar.

1384. You might be in this hyperinsulinemic state.

1385. One fifty over 110.

1386. Your total cholesterol was 165 before.

1387. Now it's 225.

1388. A liver that's inflamed in any way or sick in any way

1389. will leak some of its enzymes out to the blood.

1390. So this is very nonspecific,

1391. but it means the liver is sick,

1392. and the most likely cause of your liver sickness

1393. is a fatty liver.

1394. Your liver is now like pate.

1395. was originally 21.

1396. - Now it's... - One thirty.

1397. And SGPT was originally 20.

1398. Now it's 290, a more than tenfold increase.

1399. Not good, not good, not good.

1400. Anybody would say right now that you're sick.

1401. If you're fatigued with this,

1402. you'll feel lethargic with this,

1403. you'll feel run-down with this. If, you know...

1404. If somebody were doing this to their liver with alcohol,

1405. they could theoretically wipe out all the liver... Wipe out their liver cells

1406. and, and, and they'd be in liver failure.

1407. Now, I've never heard of anybody doing this to their liver

1408. with a high-fat diet, but I guess anything's poss...

1409. I don't know. I can't answer the question.

1410. Never, never been done before.

1411. No one's ever wiped out their liver with a high-fat diet before.

1412. Wow.

1413. And I won't wipe out my liver in two more weeks?

1414. I would think it would be unlikely.

1415. I don't want to tell you you wouldn't.

1416. My advice to you is to stop doing what you're doing,

1417. because it's hurting you.

1418. You're sick, and you're making yourself sick,

1419. and you can make yourself unsick

1420. by stopping doing what you're doing.

1421. I'm just afraid there will be something that's totally irreversible.

1422. You know, that there will be some damage done that...

1423. Yeah. I don't know.

1424. So, do they think that once you change your habits

1425. that that's going to correct itself?

1426. Yeah, they think that everything should get back on track

1427. once this is done.

1428. Your liver... I've been doing some reading.

1429. Your liver is very resilient, and your liver heals itself.

1430. So...

1431. Well, if you need a portion of my liver, honey,

1432. you can have it.

1433. I'll give up part of my liver for you.

1434. Thanks, mom. Thanks.

1435. There's a drug that is used in emergency rooms, called Naloxone.

1436. It's used for heroin overdose.

1437. A guy comes in overdosed on heroin, comatose.

1438. He's gonna die.

1439. You inject him with this drug,

1440. and it blocks the opiate receptors in the brain.

1441. Heroin doesn't work. He wakes up.

1442. If I give that same drug to a real chocolate addict,

1443. a person just shoveling it in,

1444. You find the most amazing thing.

1445. They lose much of their interest in chocolate.

1446. They take a bite, they set it back down.

1447. In other words, it's not taste and mouth feel.

1448. it's a drug effect of the food within the brain

1449. that keeps us coming back again and again.

1450. You're saying that your mood goes up once you start eating.

1451. Yeah. Lately, every time I eat, I feel 100% better.

1452. Ha! So it seems like you're starting to get addicted to it now.

1453. McDonald's calls people who eat their food

1454. at least once a week "heavy users."

1455. I'm not kidding.

1456. Seventy-two percent of the people who eat at McDonald's are heavy users.

1457. They also have another category,

1458. the "super heavy user."

1459. These people eat their food

1460. three, four, five times a week and up.

1461. Twenty-two percent of the people who eat at McDonald's

1462. are super heavy users.

1463. If you look at the menu at a fast-food restaurant,

1464. they use all of the addicting components.

1465. They'll take a slab of meat, cover it with cheese,

1466. cheese, of course, which is filled with the casomorphins,

1467. uh, the opiates that are found in the cheese protein.

1468. and then they serve it with a sugary soda,

1469. which has the addictive powers of sugar

1470. with plenty of added caffeine.

1471. Now, you might be a 12-year-old kid.

1472. Your brain is no match for that combination.

1473. In 2002, McDonald's France

1474. took out a full-page ad in a French magazine

1475. in which a nutritionist stated, "There is no reason

1476. to go to McDonald's more than once a week."

1477. McDonald's corporate headquarters in the U.S. freaked out,

1478. saying that this is only one opinion,

1479. and that the vast majority of nutrition professionals

1480. say that McDonald's food can be a part of a healthy diet.

1481. So, we thought we'd randomly call some

1482. nutritionists to see what their opinions were

1483. when it came to eating fast food.

1484. How often do you think that people should eat fast food?

1485. Ideally, never.

1486. Rare to never.

1487. The less, the better. Zero is the best.

1488. Hopefully, no more often than once a month.

1489. If you were stranded on a deserted island,

1490. or if we get bombed with anthrax,

1491. and that's the only food available,

1492. that's the only time you should eat fast food.

1493. We called 100 nutritionists all over America,

1494. and the results were not on track

1495. with the "vast majority" McDonald's talked about.

1496. Only two out of the 100

1497. said you should eat fast food two times a week or more.

1498. Twenty-eight said once a week to once or twice a month.

1499. And 45 said you should never eat it.

1500. Ninety-five of them agreed that it is a major contributor

1501. to the obesity epidemic sweeping America.

1502. - Okay. - Okay? Okay.

1503. Hi, Morgan, how are you? Bridget Bennett from Health.

1504. Unfortunately, I have to tell you

1505. that Health is gonna have to close its doors, effective immediately.

1506. I'm sorry to tell you that over the phone.

1507. We're all sort of surprised, but we will proceed as before,

1508. just not at the integrated Health center.

1509. Okay, Morgan, thanks, and I will talk to you soon.

1510. Bye-bye.

1511. Apparently, we don't put much value on health in America anymore.

1512. In fact, each year, we spend over $30 billion

1513. on diet products and weight-loss programs,

1514. Two and a half times what we spend on fitness and health.

1515. There are pills, drinks, bars.

1516. You can lose weight while you sleep, while you watch TV,

1517. and while eating everything you want,

1518. always pushing the newest way to stay thin without exercise.

1519. Some people, however, feel that they have tried everything

1520. and see only one remaining option

1521. as their last hope for health.

1522. I'm diabetic.

1523. Eighty percent of the people don't have to take insulin anymore after this.

1524. - Mm-hmm. - Plus, I have hypertension.

1525. Hopefully, correct that, lose my weight, and lose my high blood pressure.

1526. Yeah.

1527. This is Bruce Howlett.

1528. In a few minutes, his stomach will be surgically reduced

1529. to the size of a small apple in a gastric bypass operation.

1530. People with hypertension who are obese,

1531. about 75% of them

1532. will get rid of their hypertensive medications.

1533. Doctors Adam Naaman and Carl Geisler

1534. will be performing the operation.

1535. Together, they have done more than 500 gastric bypass surgeries,

1536. and with their tandem technique,

1537. they are setting the industry standard,

1538. completing the procedure in less than 30 minutes

1539. and sending patients home the following day.

1540. We have established now that the only procedure

1541. that really cures diabetes is obesity surgery.

1542. I went blind for a week.

1543. Just went complete... One day out of the blue, you went blind?

1544. I went to work, got to work, drove to work that night,

1545. got to work, couldn't read the charts,

1546. and I had to call my supervisor, tell her I couldn't work

1547. because I couldn't see what I was doing,

1548. and called my wife, had to get her to ride to work

1549. to pick me up and take me home.

1550. And then once I stopped drinking the diet soda waters,

1551. got my sugars back down.

1552. I was fortunate enough, my eyesight came back.

1553. I didn't do that much damage to them at that time.

1554. I think it's human nature to seek a drastic solution

1555. only when you're faced with a drastic problem.

1556. I drank three or four of those a day.

1557. Three or four... 'Cause this is a half-gallon,

1558. That means you were drinking probably about two gallons of soda a day.

1559. It wasn't unusual, for a two-week time,

1560. we'd buy 50 two-liters of soda water.

1561. - Fifty two-liters every two weeks. - Mm-hmm.

1562. And I'd probably end up having to pick him up a couple extra.

1563. - He drinks more than I do. - Yeah.

1564. I'll go through about one of those a day.

1565. There's some days I go through three or four two-liters.

1566. A lot of us don't realize the social stigma

1567. that these people face on a daily basis.

1568. One, two, three.

1569. It's, um...

1570. It's, like, 2:00 a.m. in the morning on February 21.

1571. I, uh, woke up, couldn't breathe.

1572. I'm having really difficulty breathing.

1573. I'm very hot,

1574. and, uh, um,

1575. felt like I was having heart palpitations.

1576. Um...

1577. Came up and, uh, walked around the living room.

1578. I was trying to get my breath back.

1579. and, uh... I want to finish,

1580. but I don't want anything real bad to happen, either.

1581. your EKG is normal.

1582. Deep breath.

1583. And out.

1584. Now, listen, I don't have a ready explanation

1585. for your chest pain.

1586. Would you at least consider taking aspirin once a day

1587. now that you're on this ridiculous diet?

1588. Uh, maybe. I'll think about it.

1589. Why would you even think about it? Why wouldn't you just do it?

1590. This is really... You know...

1591. You saw these numbers, right?

1592. These numbers are absolutely outrageous.

1593. For the first time, we're seeing uric acid elevated,

1594. so you're giving yourself hyperuricemia,

1595. and the danger of hyperuricemia is gout, kidney stones.

1596. The results for your liver are obscene

1597. beyond anything I would have thought.

1598. - Yeah. - Truly.

1599. I mean... You know that movie "Death in Las Vegas",

1600. Nicolas Cage, that pickled his liver

1601. - during the course of a few weeks in Las Vegas. -Right.

1602. I would never have thought you could do the same thing

1603. - with a high-fat diet. - Yeah.

1604. Uh, my advice to you, as a physician,

1605. is that you've got to stop pickling your liver.

1606. And you're kicking it while it's down now.

1607. Now it's down, and you're kicking it further.

1608. I mean, if you were an alcoholic, I'd say, "You're gonna die.

1609. You keep drinking, you'll die."

1610. If the pain starts to radiate to your jaw or down your arm,

1611. - that's life-threatening, and immediately so. -Yeah.

1612. So I need to hear about that, or you need to call 911.

1613. - Okay. - All right?

1614. - Hello? - Hello.

1615. - Hi, sweetheart. - How are you?

1616. I'm good. I'm worried about you.

1617. Yeah.

1618. I had no idea this was gonna be such a dangerous experiment.

1619. Yeah.

1620. I don't think anybody did.

1621. The doctor didn't even think it was gonna be this drastic.

1622. - He's floored by it. - Yeah.

1623. And, um, he doesn't know what will happen.

1624. He says, "Listen, I have no idea."

1625. But, you know, he said that if I am feeling bad or feeling anything,

1626. to page him, and he'll admit me immediately wherever I am.

1627. Oh, sweetheart.

1628. Yeah.

1629. I love you so much, and I don't want you to be hurt.

1630. Yeah, me either.

1631. Me either.

1632. I'll tell you, if you start to get nauseous

1633. and you start vomiting and your eyes turn yellow,

1634. you have got to go to the emergency room.

1635. - Okay. Okay. - No matter where you are.

1636. Uh, if you, you know... Again, if you're not keeping food down

1637. or you're feeling sick to your stomach,

1638. you know, it looks like your liver functions are getting worse.

1639. My suggestion would be to stop the diet.

1640. - Okay. -And go back to eating a lower-fat diet,

1641. rechecking the blood tests in a couple of weeks.

1642. Nobody needs to be partisan about this issue.

1643. We need fixes, we need remedies, and we need support.

1644. How much influence on government legislators

1645. does the food industry have?

1646. The food industry is an enormous business in the United States.

1647. Therefore, it employs very expensive

1648. and well-paid lobbyists,

1649. and those lobbyists are in Washington for two purposes.

1650. Number one, to make sure that no government agency ever says,

1651. "Eat less of the company's products."

1652. Number two,

1653. that the government never passes legislation that is unfavorable.

1654. And I guess the third one is to encourage the government

1655. to pass favorable legislation.

1656. The GMA is one of those lobbies.

1657. You're going to see us do what we do best,

1658. and that is market appropriately,

1659. uh, uh, finance, uh, education programs,

1660. as we're doing in a great abundance,

1661. getting good information out to parents so we can solve the problem.

1662. That's what we do in the food industry.

1663. We are... We think that is a responsible, important role to play.

1664. We are not police. We are not regulators.

1665. We provide a safe, affordable abundance of food

1666. like the world has never seen.

1667. The food industry and the broadcasters

1668. are extremely powerful lobbies,

1669. and ... they out-gun us.

1670. The industry has stepped up to the plate.

1671. We're going to do more. we want to do more.

1672. We recognize we have a role to play.

1673. We're part of the solution.

1674. We're part of the problem,

1675. and we also are part of the solution.

1676. Did everyone hear what he just said?

1677. "We're part of the problem."

1678. The lobbyist for Coke, Heinz, Smucker's, Kellogg's, Nestle,

1679. Kraft, Hershey's, Sara Lee, Cadbury, General Mills,

1680. Seagram, Welch's, Wise, Anheuser-Busch, Birds Eye,

1681. Lance, Campbell's, Carvel, Mars,

1682. Ocean Spray, Hormel, Dannon, and Pepsi

1683. said, "We're part of the problem."

1684. I think we're making some headway.

1685. Good afternoon. Media Line.

1686. Yeah, I wanted to speak to somebody

1687. about scheduling an interview with Jim Cantalupo.

1688. I can take the information

1689. and have somebody get back to you.

1690. Good morning. Media Line.

1691. Uh, good morning. I wanted to speak to someone about scheduling an interview.

1692. I can take the information and have somebody get back to you.

1693. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of America,

1694. for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible,

1695. with liberty and justice for all.

1696. - One more time. - Yeah, what did you do?

1697. I said it. What were you doing?

1698. I pledge allegiance to the flag

1699. of the united states of America, one nation...

1700. And to the republic for which it stands.

1701. You got me all freaked out!

1702. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of America,

1703. and to the republic, for which it stands,

1704. one nation, under God, indivisible,

1705. and justice for all.

1706. —Liberty. Where's the liberty?

1707. - The liberty. Say it. - I'm so sorry.

1708. Do you want us to keep walking?

1709. What's the Big Mac slogan?

1710. You know, "Two all-beef patties..."

1711. "Special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun."

1712. Yeah, you know that. You know that!

1713. That is a shame! That is a shame!

1714. Welcome to McDonald's. We're glad you're here.

1715. Hi, can I help you?

1716. Could I get a large vanilla shake, please?

1717. I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any shakes right now.

1718. - No shakes? - No.

1719. When will you have shakes, do you think?

1720. Guess that's a never.

1721. At the end of this month,

1722. I'll have eaten as much McDonald's

1723. as most nutritionists say you're supposed to eat in eight years.

1724. Media Line. This is Sheila.

1725. Sheila, it's Morgan Spurlock calling.

1726. I'm trying to reach Lisa Howard.

1727. Okay, Morgan, I will let her know.

1728. Hi, this is Lisa Howard. I'm not able to take your call right now.

1729. If you'll leave a message, I'll get back...

1730. Hey, Lisa. Morgan Spurlock calling.

1731. I wanted to follow up on the e-mail I sent you...

1732. close to the end of the day, I didn't know when she was taking off.

1733. Sure. I'll put another message on her desk.

1734. —Lisa Howard.

1735. Hi, Lisa. Morgan Spurlock calling.

1736. - Hi. How are you? - I'm good. How are you?

1737. - I'm okay. - Good. So you got my e-mail.

1738. - Yes, I got your e-mail. - Okay.

1739. And I'm circulating it around.

1740. Okay.

1741. I don't have an answer for you.

1742. Any idea when you think you might?

1743. Probably in the next day or two.

1744. Oh, man!

1745. Walking up the stairs has gotten...

1746. It's starting to get really difficult.

1747. By the time I get to the top, it's really pathetic.

1748. Oh, man!

1749. I've got Morgan's detox diet all ready to go.

1750. the biggest thing is taking the crap out

1751. and putting good stuff in.

1752. I'm really focusing on nutrient-dense food,

1753. organic, seasonal, fresh food,

1754. making sure that I'm getting as much... As many cleansing vegetables

1755. into his diet as possible.

1756. Now, after you read what he eats everyday,

1757. and the nutritional information, 'cause I go through it all...

1758. —Yeah!

1759. - We're sharing a portion. - We're splittin'.

1760. - Extra calories. - Extra calories.

1761. I love you dearly, but you are a demented man. You're sick.

1762. - Bye-bye. - See you tomorrow?

1763. Bye!

1764. I can't believe that tomorrow I'm gonna get up

1765. and not have to go eat McDonald's.

1766. That's it.

1767. —Unbelievable.

1768. Whoo-hoo!

1769. Okay.

1770. It just keeps getting bigger.

1771. Wow.

1772. Oh, yeah.

1773. - Oh, boy. - Two hundred and ten pounds.

1774. I'm gonna say 210, right on the money.

1775. We went from 185.5 to 194...

1776. a week later to 203, then down to 202,

1777. and now eight pounds during the last week for 210.

1778. I think we know the damage that can be done.

1779. Lisa Howard, it's Morgan Spurlock calling.

1780. I don't know how many times we've called her now,

1781. but this has got to be the 15th time.

1782. Lisa Howard, Morgan Spurlock calling from New York.

1783. Uh, please call me when you get this

1784. and let's talk about what's possible.

1785. You'll not talk to anybody,

1786. and you'll like it that way.

1787. After six months of deliberation,

1788. Judge Robert Sweet dismissed the lawsuit against McDonald's.

1789. The big reason?

1790. The two girls failed to show

1791. that eating McDonald's food was what caused their injuries.

1792. Interesting.

1793. In only 30 days of eating nothing but McDonald's,

1794. I gained 24 and half pounds, my liver turned to fat,

1795. and my cholesterol shot up 65 points.

1796. My body-fat percentage went from 11% to 18%,

1797. still below the national average

1798. of 22% for men and 30% for women.

1799. I nearly doubled my risk of coronary heart disease,

1800. making myself twice as likely to have heart failure.

1801. I felt depressed and exhausted most of the time.

1802. My moods swung on a dime, and my sex life was nonexistent.

1803. I craved this food more and more when I ate it

1804. and got massive headaches when I didn't.

1805. And in my final blood test,

1806. many of my body functions showed signs of improvement,

1807. but the doctors were less than optimistic.

1808. I would very, very much doubt

1809. that these numbers will return to normal.

1810. Although it did drop, it was a small drop.

1811. If you kept on the diet, you'd definitely...

1812. Um, I know that you'd probably develop coronary artery disease.

1813. inflammation and hardening of the liver.

1814. Should people eat fast food?

1815. Uh, no.

1816. You know, the answer's no.

1817. It certainly needs to be very restricted

1818. and balanced with, overall, a healthy diet

1819. and, overall, a lot of exercise.

1820. And there's no reason whatsoever

1821. why fast food has to be so disgusting.

1822. Uh, the food... Fast food can be nutritious.

1823. It's a cheap form of food,

1824. and it does keep you full for a while,

1825. so you get your money's worth.

1826. But unfortunately, you cause some major harm to your heart,

1827. your liver, your blood.

1828. I wouldn't suggest you continue the diet for a year to check this out.

1829. I don't think it's appropriate or healthy,

1830. especially with what showed up with your liver.

1831. - For a year? - Right.

1832. - So I shouldn't eat this food for a year? - No, I don't think so.

1833. You know, we see people who, like, go on an alcohol binge,

1834. and their numbers go up like crazy,

1835. but to go on, you know, a Mac attack...

1836. and they've got numbers to show that your, it attacks your liver, too.

1837. I would never... Honestly, I wouldn't have even thought about this.

1838. But it makes sense.

1839. Now that we have the data, it definitely makes sense.

1840. Still, the impact of this initial lawsuit

1841. is being seen far and wide.

1842. School districts in New York, Texas, and San Francisco

1843. have banned sugary soft drinks in schools,

1844. and all-natural, healthy options are popping up everywhere.

1845. McDonald's joined right in,

1846. sponsoring events that showed how health-conscious they'd become

1847. and creating a new line of premium salads.

1848. At the same time, however, they also masterminded

1849. one of their fattest sandwiches to date,

1850. the McGriddle, a pancake-wrapped creation

1851. that won my heart in Texas

1852. but can pack as much fat as a Big Mac

1853. and have more sugar than a pack of McDonaldland cookies.

1854. in fact, their new premium ranch chicken salad with dressing

1855. delivers more calories than a Big Mac

1856. and 51 grams of fat,

1857. 79% of your daily fat intake.

1858. Over the course of my McDiet,

1859. I consumed 30 pounds of sugar from their food.

1860. That's a pound a day.

1861. On top of that, I also took in 12 pounds of fat.

1862. Now, I know what you're saying.

1863. You're saying, "Nobody's supposed to eat this food three times a day.

1864. No wonder all this stuff happened to you."

1865. But the scary part is,

1866. there are people who eat this food regularly.

1867. Some people even eat it every day.

1868. So while my experiment may have been a little extreme,

1869. it's not that crazy.

1870. But here is a crazy idea,

1871. why not do away with your super size options?

1872. Who needs 42 ounces of coke, a half-pound of fries?

1873. And why not give me a choice

1874. besides French fries or French fries?

1875. That would be a great start.

1876. But why should these companies want to change?

1877. Their loyalty isn't to you. It's to the stockholders.

1878. The bottom line, they're a business,

1879. no matter what they say.

1880. And by getting you to supersize, they make millions,

1881. and no company wants to stop doing that.

1882. If this ever-growing paradigm is going to shift,

1883. it's up to you.

1884. But if you decide to keep living this way, go ahead.

1885. Over time, you may find yourself getting as sick as I did,

1886. and you may wind up here...

1887. or here.

1888. I guess the big question is,

1889. who do you want to see go first, you or them?

1890. Right now, you have the urge to eat something.

1891. When it's through, if you still want to eat,

1892. then you're probably really hungry.

1893. Think about what I'm saying.