Many are familiar with the 2004 documentary “Super Size Me,�? in which comedian Morgan Spurlock decides to test the theory that fast food is bad for you. Over the course of 30 days, Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald’s, filling up on the fast-food chain’s offerings three times per day while not allowing himself to eat or drink anything else. Spurlock, who had a clean bill of health and a thin frame at the onset of the film, soon experienced rapid weight gain. Additionally, his health began to deteriorate to the point where one of his doctors nearly begged him to stop the experiment for fear that Spurlock’s research could end in tragedy.
FAST FOOD CHANGES?
While scientists and fast-food executives alike scoffed at Spurlock’s experiment (each side agreed that one person does not a legitimate experiment make), it is worth noting that Spurlock’s film spawned a number of changes in the fast-food industry. Though McDonald’s refuses to admit that Spurlock’s film had anything to do with the longtime fast food chain taking the Super Size food option (which allowed customers to order more food and larger beverages for a slight increase in price) off its menu. Although, the Super Size option was removed in name only, the company still allows customers to upgrade their meals — allowing them to order larger portions of fries and beverages for a minimal fee. And McDonald’s is not alone in this, as Wendy’s allows its customers to “Biggie Size�? their meals, and Burger King allows customers to “Go Large.�? Each chain does so for very low additional cost. This suggests that the much-publicized changes in fast food were nothing more than public relations.
Another popular ploy by many fast-food restaurants looking to quiet health-conscious critics is the salad menu. McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and Wendy’s are just a handful of the fast food chains that offer salads. However, upon closer examination, these salads are not significantly healthier than many of the items already on the menu. In a 2003 study titled “The New ‘Salads’: The Latest in Fast Fraud,�? the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) examined just how healthy these fast-food salads are. While some salads that relied on fresh vegetables received high grades, most salads proved to fall far short of healthy. McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad actually had more fat (35.5 grams) and calories and just as much cholesterol (70 milligrams) as a Big Mac. Grading on a five-star scale (with five stars being the highest and healthiest rating and one being the lowest rating possible), PCRM found that no salad on the menu at McDonald’s or Burger King warranted more than one star while only two of the four salads offered by Wendy’s were worthy of two stars.
BIGGER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER
In defense of the fast-food chains, options to change fries for baked potatoes, soda for milk or juice or fat-laden breakfast sandwiches for fruit and yogurt do seem to be conscious efforts toward offering healthier fare. But just as these options pop up on fast-food menus across the country, so do an array of new and increasingly unhealthy foods.
Burger King revealed their “Enormous Omelet Sandwich�? in 2005, a breakfast-menu item featuring six half-slices of bacon, a sausage patty, two omelet egg patties and two slices of American cheese, all on a specialty bun. The sandwich is a total of 740 calories (including 410 calories from fat), according to Burger King’s Web site.
Not to be outdone, in 2004 Hardee’s began offering consumers the “Monster Thickburger,�? a 1,410-calorie hamburger featuring two 1�?�3 pound Angus beef patties, four strips of bacon, three slices of American cheese and some mayonnaise. As if that weren’t enough, the sandwich is served on a toasted and buttered sesame-seed bun.
HEALTH EFFECTS
As consumers worldwide continue to throw caution to the wind by eating these unhealthy foods, understanding the dire effects of such an attitude is necessary and potentially lifesaving. According to the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), a chief cause of heart failure is diabetes followed by obesity, as excess weight taxes the heart by putting undue pressure on it, limiting its ability to perform its chief function, pumping blood throughout the body. While many have long argued there is no correlation between diabetes and fast food and obesity and fast food, research is beginning to show quite the opposite.
In their 2004 study on Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults, Mark Pereira, Ph.D., and David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., reported that fast food increased the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study went on to point out that participants who consumed fast food twice or more per week gained in the neighborhood of 10 more pounds while exhibiting twice as great a resistance to insulin over a 15-year period, compared with those participants who consumed fast food less than once per week. This reflects the lasting and potentially lethal dangers of fast food.
While ploys such as smaller portions and menu updates might make the fast-food industry appear as though they are promoting a more healthy diet and lifestyle, accepting more individual responsibility remains the best way to knowing just how healthy your diet is. To learn more about heart failure or Heart Failure Awareness Week (February 12-18), visit the HFSA Web site at
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