By Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D.
Posted: Thursday, January 22, 2004

ARTICLES
Publication Date: January 22, 2004

Morgan Spurlock wanted to be in a movie. And he was in a movie — one he made himself — which he then presented to the world at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. The subject of the movie was the fattening of Morgan himself — he managed to gain twenty-five pounds in a month by overeating at McDonald's restaurants. The name of his documentary, Supersize Me, should serve as a warning to the rest of us that eating too much will make us fat (which we might have heard before).

Actually, Mr. Spurlock is simply following an old Hollywood tradition — gaining weight rapidly to suit a movie role. Robert DeNiro did it for Raging Bull, as did Rene Zellweger for Bridget Jones' Diary, and most recently Charlize Theron for Monster. As far as I know, none of these thespians restricted their weight-gaining efforts to any particular type of food or eating venue.

But that won't stop Mr. Spurlock and others from blaming McDonald's for his own foray into gluttony. Such fingerpointing is misleading because it suggests that "fast foods" are to blame for the nation's increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. In fact, any calorically-dense foods, eaten to excess, can add inches to one's girth, especially if unaccompanied by calorie-burning exercise; that should be the real message — not that cheeseburgers and fries automatically make one fat.

Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., is Director of Nutrition at the American Council on Sience and Health.

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Want to burn off the calories from your cheeseburger? It won't take long. Instead of sitting for 98 minutes and watching this film, walk out — and keep walking. But for sedentary pleasure, you can read an expanded version of this article, as it appeared on http://TechCentralStation.com.