By Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D.
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2004

ACSH IN THE NEWS
Publication Date: June 17, 2004

This letter to the editor appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on June 16, 2004:

To the editor:

Roger Moore's review in Friday's Calendar section of the movie Super Size Me calls director/star Morgan Spurlock's downward spiral compelling.  But what Spurlock demonstrated in his movie was just plain gluttony, compounded by an intentional lack of physical activity.

Although he says the movie wasn't really about McDonald's food per se, Spurlock still accuses the company of being one of the culprits responsible for America's obesity problem.  If McDonald's is a culprit, so is every deli, supermarket, and salad bar (check out the number of calories in many of the salad dressings).

Food of all sorts is readily available these days, to an extent never seen thirty or forty years ago.  That fact is not likely to change.  Consumers must learn to make appropriate food choices and to increase physical activity to balance the calories they consume.  Further, we must teach our children to do likewise or the negative health consequences of obesity will be epidemic as well.

Ruth Kava
Director of Nutrition
American Council on Science and Health
New York, NY