Week 4 EOC: McDonalds respones to "Super Size Me"

                                     McDonalds response to “Super Size Me”

When filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heard about a lawsuit that two overweight New York teenagers had brought against McDonald's, blaming the restaurant for their condition, he decided to conduct an experiment.

For 30 days, Spurlock ate McDonald's food, three meals a day, to see what would happen to his body. He chronicled this diet in his new documentary "Super Size Me." The crew shot 250 hours worth of footage, traveled more than 25,000 miles and made a movie, from concept to fruition, in less than one year.

During his experiment, Spurlock (despite the protests of his live-in girlfriend, a vegan chef) followed the following four rules:

1. No options. He could eat only what was available over the counter (water included!).
2. No super-sizing unless offered.
3. No excuses. He had to eat every item on the menu at least once.
4. No giving up. He had to eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At the begging of the film Spurlock  was in great shape, according to a physical examination. After a month, he gained 24.5 pounds, his cholesterol with up 65 pounds, his liver basically turned into fat. He was reaching a toxic level, putting himself at risk of non-alcoholic type of hepatitis.

Shortly after the movie aired these are a few statements in response from McDonalds:

Director of Worldwide Nutrition, Dr. Cathy Kapica:
She says, "As a registered nutritionist, I was extremely disappointed when I saw this movie. Here was an opportunity to actually provide insights into a serious problem. In fact, all it turned out to be was an extreme stunt where someone engaged in irresponsible behavior of eating twice as much as they should every day, limiting physical activity. It was a complete disservice to anyone looking for factual information or real solutions."

The company has called the documentary “a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald’s.” It says the film is not about McDonald’s but about Spurlock’s decision to act irresponsibly by eating 5,000 calories a day — “a gimmick to make a film.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-615975.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4433307/ns/business-us_business/t/mcdonalds-phasing-out-supersize-fries-drinks/#.Ufmdd4JD9kg