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Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
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the ass-end of space

0 posted 2004-10-02 12:18 PM


Has anybody else watched Morgan Spurlock's documentary on fast food/obesity? Absolutely disturbing information but more importantly a clear message. While the food and its marketing are problems, in the end blame lies in the choices YOU make. I'm slightly ill at the moment, I was fine throughout the film, but am reeling from one of the DVDs bonus features. I won't spoil it for anyone but the 'smoking fry'? It's just so wrong.
© Copyright 2004 raphael giuffrida - All Rights Reserved
serenity blaze
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since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

1 posted 2004-10-02 01:07 AM


uh...not me.

munch-munch-munch

VEGEMITE

But...there was a particular rant of Bill Maher's...regarding gov't subsidy of corn production in the U.S. and just how MUCH corn starch/syrup is added to our canned good, concluding with just how damned FAT Americans are...

sheesh.

Don't get me started.

sheesh.

munch


Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
2 posted 2004-10-02 01:40 AM


Bill Maher, l@ve the guy..
Susan Caldwell
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since 2002-12-27
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Florida
3 posted 2004-10-02 09:13 AM


hmmmmmmm.....

doesn't it really boil down to greed and a need to prove superiority?

"I have to have the biggest or most amount for my money"..."I will prove by buying the most that I have more money, therefore I am superior."

Don't laugh...I know people like that...they exist!!!

I can truthfully say I have never gotten anything supersized...*sigh* food that is..

(Karen when I typed that I was reminded of the conversation we had once about circumference...LOL)  anyhoo...



SEA
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4 posted 2004-10-02 01:03 PM


I can't eat a Big Mac any more...not from watching that super size me thing, but from the Subway sandwiches commercial where Jared tells us that a big mac has 33 grams of fat. *sigh* I can't even think of a big mac now without hearing that fact....

so now i only have Jack in the box
LOL


serenity blaze
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5 posted 2004-10-02 01:22 PM


Jack in the box?

Does he come supersized?


Mysteria
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6 posted 2004-10-02 01:24 PM


I think they should hold assembly in gyms around the country showing that video to students, and the smoking one too.  Before that video came out there was a segment on "Oprah" where a dietician showed  the equivalent fat content of a 1/4 pounder with cheese meal deal with a drink. This great big container was overflowing in "bad" fat.  Personally, I never ate one thing there since seeing that show, never!  Their ice cream even tastes of oil, but still billions are lined up to buy that stuff. Marketing is the killer literally in the fast food world.

They conducted a study in Vancouver as well, not sure if you got it back east, and through that study the food in the cafeterias have been changed at our schools to a more healthier selection.  

As with anything bad for your kids, the lesson has to be taught at home that it is bad for them and why, by example.  You can not give a kid money for lunch and say to buy a wrap, sub, or fruit - they won't do it.  

Okay you may laugh at me, (I know I did when my Mother talked this way,) but in "my" old days you had to pack a lunch for your kids or they didn't eat.  If they had no lunch you got phone call asking where the heck it was, and if there was a problem soon you, the dietician, and your child sat in a scheduled meeting.  They believed in brain food back then.

I look at all those fancy packages in the store and know exactly where parents money goes these days.  I see my own family buying absolute garbage to eat that comes in pretty containers and boxes, because it is fast. I have never bought into that concept.  Old school of fresh is better I guess.

Fact is Raph, life is always about choices - people can eat conveniently for a short time, or well for a long time.  The fact is that today's convenience can indeed cost you your life.

Sorry to ramble on - but this happens to be my pet pieve in my own family as well.  Not the obesity but eating crap in boxes and containers for the sake of convenience.  The cost is astronomical for that convenience, and you could actually go on a trip for the money you saved making all that junk yourself       I know, I do!  I bet I save $1,000 a year just in making my own popsicles LOL, honest!

Believe it or not, I kept this short, you hit on my favorite subject, the health of our kids today.  It is in serious trouble.  You know, you just gave me an idea for a book Raph

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
7 posted 2004-10-02 03:05 PM


Glad to be of service Sharon  

You bring up some great points Spurlock addresses many of them. For example, it also looks at junk food sold in school cafeteria's and the calorie content of USDA approved meals for said cafeterias. It also takes a look at mandatory excercise for elementary schools. I was absolutely shocked that physical education was only mandatory in one state and that on average, those schools only managed one day a week of activity. I was also shocked to learn some schools have or are considering shortening recess? Incredible. When I was in school we had phys ed everyday and I was appalled when they cut it down to 3 days a week. But one, if even?

And you're right about packed lunches and home cooking, people are strapped for time and lazy but the truth of the matter is homecooking means healthier choices.



Mysteria
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8 posted 2004-10-02 03:22 PM


You are SO right about the school exercise programs.  They tried to pull that off here in Vancouver, and everyone sure put a stop to that in a hurry.  You cut out the sports, phys.ed. and exercise, then you are really going to have a population that is destined to die very young.  

Here is a great site that covers pretty much all the relevant materials collected in Canada on the subject of obesity in children during about the last four years, and man, it is fightening.   http://www.cmaj.ca/misc/obesity/index.shtml

Okay I am going outside for some exercise as we speak, as I think that this is the secret to keeping young, fit, and healthy.  My doctor says eat what you want in moderation, but remember to work it off.    

My final two cents - when you say, "Supersize me," you sure will get your wish    

Alicat
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since 1999-05-23
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Coastal Texas
9 posted 2004-10-02 03:48 PM


Well, if for nothing else, I'm sure all that mobile lard can be used for something useful.  Government paid liposuction, then take all that goop and refine it into fuel oils.  With so many clinically defined obese people in America, and so many nay-sayers against American in other countries, we could easily reduce our dependance on foreign fuel sources and let our American bir....eagle fly right in their faces.
serenity blaze
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10 posted 2004-10-02 03:58 PM


"Government paid liposuction, then take all that goop and refine it into fuel oils."

I just had an appalling thought...

VEGEMITE?

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Greeneyes
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11 posted 2004-10-02 09:55 PM


Didnt McDonalds "pull" the Super Size Menu? Or was that just talk from the company? I thought I heard a news story about that or maybe it was in the papers.....? a talk to pull that menu just for the facts that Aenimal spoke of.....

~~*~~
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look deep into each word
and you will understand the
depth of my soul (GE)
~~**~~

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
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the ass-end of space
12 posted 2004-10-03 02:32 PM


Yes they did pull their supersize menu, at least for the time being.

I think the most disturbing thing for me was a bit on how much soda some people consume a day. Some people drink upwards to five gallons! A couple admitted to this and the wife said, almost proudly, that "I only drink a gallon" versus her husband's 5.

Also I had no idea McDonald's delivered, unless it's just New York, that's scary temptation.

SEA
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13 posted 2004-10-03 03:23 PM


gallons?? of soda??! No way! I have an occasional diet soda, but anytime I go through fast food, I get iced tea. Don't those folks know what that stuff is doing to their guts?? Ewwww....no way...
Dark Angel
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Posts 10095

14 posted 2004-10-03 05:07 PM


I don't go to Macca's often but when I do, I always get a "water with that"   

cuz fate is not just whose cooking smells good
but which way the wind blows

~ani difranco~

Susan Caldwell
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since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348
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15 posted 2004-10-12 12:42 PM


Okay, finally got to watch this weekend

(email if you want the rant on why it took so long for me to get to see this..lol)

First, I will not eat at that establishment ever again...and the smoking fries?  LMAO...It was disturbing and funny at the same time...

and a side note, Raph.. I watched "Jersey Girl" this weekend also...and I stand corrected about what you said before about Ben....*sigh* he's still cute though..

"cast me gently into the morning, for the night has been unkind"
~Sarah McLachlan~

Kaoru
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where the wild flowers grow
16 posted 2004-10-12 02:08 PM


I've yet to see it, but I really want to. I have this kind of obsession with the whole fast food chain story. I have a book called "Fast Food Nation", plus read a few others concerning fast food.

I know that the documentary is supposed to be about what happens to ya when you eat fast food on an almost daily basis.. The premise alone is sickening.. I can't eat fast food, at all..

Ickkkkky.

LoveBug
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17 posted 2004-10-12 09:39 PM


I should say, first off, that I've struggled with my weight all of my life. I've lost 10 percent of my body weight since July, so before you all rant at me, know that I'm working on it.

Sometimes people are strapped for cash and time. I have 12 university classes, most people have 5 or six, so it's not always easy to go home and cook. Also, it's not easy to have that time, even when I get home. Practice and homework occupy most of that time. I pack a sandwich if I have the time in the morning, but sometimes I don't. I have a half hour to have lunch on most days, and thats not enough for me to go home, cook, and come back. I have 2 or 3 dollars. Personally, since I'm doing this, I either go Subway or drink juice until I can get home. Most of my classmates apt for the fast food. Sometimes I'll stop by a fast food place, though (Weight Watchers allows for that occasionally). I really don't think it's a question of laziness, it's a question of what you have time to do.

I'm just saying that I understand why people will opt to stop by a fast food place, as opposed to spending more money and more time (when both are lacking) to have home cooking. I'll tell you right now, I'd rather have home cooking any day, but that can't always happen. It's also a fact that it's more expensive to eat healthy than it is not to. (before I started dieting, I spent about 30 a week on food, now it's 45-50) WV is #2 in the nation for obesity, and an article I read at my gym talks about why.. it's basically the fact that we are also one of the poorest states. People work long hours for little money. They don't have time to cook grilled chicken and salad every day, and they can't afford it, usually.

I'm not justifying fast food, I'm just saying that it's a bit insensetive to suggest that it's simply a matter of laziness, gluttony, or greed..

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

Susan Caldwell
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348
Florida
18 posted 2004-10-13 07:02 AM


Well, I reread what I said and still don't see in it where I said anything about it being all encompassing.  I certainly did not intend for anyone to assume that I meant that everyone is over weight because they have a need to feel superior and or they are greedy.

I was going to explain what I really meant  however, I know there are people that will get my meaning and those who won't or don't want to.

If I offended you, then I am sorry.

"cast me gently into the morning, for the night has been unkind"
~Sarah McLachlan~

LoveBug
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19 posted 2004-10-13 02:48 PM


Wow... I don't think that I'm the one offended here. I don't want to get your meaning?? I wasn't talking directly to you, a lot of people said similar things, I was just giving my point of view. You don't have to get defensive, or suggest that I'm either too simple to understand, or am looking for a fight. I just wanted to give my two cents.. thats what the discussion forums are for, right?
I hope I didn't offend you, my friend. Was just looking for some good debating.. sorry if I came across wrong!

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

Susan Caldwell
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348
Florida
20 posted 2004-10-13 03:35 PM


Offened?  In part yes.  I have two sisters that fight the weight battle (one of which is caused by meds) so being misunderstood at all, in part or whole, was important for me to rectify.

I wanted to make sure I hadn't inadvertently said something that came across wrong in light of your response.

What I said about greed...(which is something you addressed directly in your response) was not about (nor was anything I said) overweight people...I was referring to the trend in America for competing when it comes to having the biggest and best.  

Supersizing is often accepted because people want to feel they are getting the most for their money...greed.  

Of course these are my opinions and I had no wish to offend if indeed that is what I did..so I offered an explaination (certainly not saying you would not understand my meaning but that there are people that will understand, won't understand and those that don't want to because they actively engage in the behavior being spoken about, greed..not overeating.)  and I offered an apology just in case it was me that you were referring to, even if it was only partly me you were referring to.

At this point I would offer that maybe, just maybe not everything you see in type is how you might perceive it.  

I will shut up now.  

Mysteria
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21 posted 2004-10-13 04:09 PM


Well, I have friends that struggle with weight gain a lot.  Some eat like birds, and then others can eat an entire bird but both struggle.  The bottom line is this, and it was what my doctor said to me when I found 15 lbs that were not mine!  "You can't continue to shovel all you want into your mouth without exercising period, get moving!"  For those with weight problems it is a constant struggle, and it can be the worst predicament for ridicule from others, for which I feel very sad.  If people only knew that by heckling someone it only adds fuel to an already raging fire from within and actually makes them eat more. I can only compare dieting to quitting smoking okay?  I did both, and quitting my bagel chips and cream cheese was worse.  I still have the shakes whenrver I walk past that Bagel Street Cafe, LOL and the devil/angel thing happening.

I did want to share with you a trick of mine though.  I make no sugar popsicles from Crystal Light and I am hooked on those things.  I always make sure there are two Tupperware containers of ice water filled with cut veggies, and one with cut up fruit on the top shelf of the fridge, along with a low carb dip, a dill and a sweetened one.  This would be great to take to work, school, or university too actually.  When I crave a snack they are handy, and I don't grab something toxic like chips, etc.  I try really hard now to absolutely never snack after dinner, as that is what got me in the first place, and now that I gave those 15 pounds back I don't want them again!  

This thread was started about children , and seeing it took on a new light I thought I would add my little trick to it.  I rely on recipes on the internet for healthy snacking as I am the "snacker from hell!" LOL

LoveBug
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22 posted 2004-10-13 05:11 PM


Susan-Don't shut up, by all means! Thats what a discussion forum is for.

Mystie-I drink Crystal lite all the time, but never thought of freezing it for popcicles. I don't really crave cold very much, but I'll keep that in mind! The food struggle is something that never goes away.. it's discouraging, really, in that aspect. Kind of like being trapped. I'm told that I don't eat that much, but it's just my bad choices. I'm picky and I mainly eat carbs, so I guess it doesn't take much with that kind of diet. I mainly have low or no fat versions of things, in moderation. Yes, I am an Olestra child. It's enabled me to lose weight and keep (SOME!) of my sanity!
(brag)I've gotten off 27 pounds since Mid-July, so I guess I'm doing ok with that and my visits to the gym(end brag)

Oh, make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never ever
Outlive my love for Thee

Aenimal
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350
the ass-end of space
23 posted 2004-10-13 11:39 PM


Susan i shall email you, been out of it lately, and see told you Ben was a piece of wood! All the charisma of ageless fries.


Lovebug i don't think any of us here or the makers of the film would state that it's merely an issue of laziness or self indulgence. It's a combination of various problems and that's why it's important to tackle the problem of obesity from all angles and that starts with education.

Wow. I just can't believe anyone could get Susan to shut up. grins

I'm a dead man.

PoetryIsLife
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24 posted 2004-11-23 03:02 AM


After seeing the movie by chance, I've sworn off fast food completely.  I simply couldn't stomach it now...

-Titus

Cloud 9
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since 2004-11-05
Posts 980
Ca
25 posted 2004-11-23 11:23 AM


Hey over in St. Louis...Hardee's came out with a burger that is 1420 calories and 107 grams of fat. President of the company says he wanted to put something out there for people who care more about a great burger and careless about thier weight. He is expecting a law suit any day.
Titia Geertman
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since 2001-05-07
Posts 5182
Netherlands
26 posted 2004-11-23 07:26 PM


When I visited the USA three years ago to meet all those fine PIP poets, I did of course eat in restaurants. And what amazed me the most was the extraordinary amount of food you got on your plate.
I lived in the States for a while some 35 years ago, but it was different then in my recollection.

Nowadays there is so many fried food (I tasted the fried onions), it's all very delicious, but very dangerous I'd say.

And indeed, it's only YOU who's making the choice to eat it or not.

Titia

Like scattered leaves...my words will flow

~DreamChild~
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since 2001-04-23
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in your dreams
27 posted 2004-11-24 12:33 PM


i like good ol homecooked meals myself.
i think fast food places suck most of the time.


ice
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since 2003-05-17
Posts 3404
Pennsylvania
28 posted 2004-11-25 11:24 AM


My view on overeating in general, is that humans are responding to primal urges when they do so.

The fact that things around us have changed does not override inherent primal urges in many inherited areas... overeating and sex being two that often come to mind.

Our prehistoric ancestors had to hunt and gather their food, which was most of the time in short supply and was obtained by vigorous exercise and effort.

They ate mostly high fiber,low calorie foods in large volumes which their digestive systems were designed to process..(as is ours still today)

When a large protein animal was brought down, it was at great expense of effort spent...At those times, overindulgence must have been the theme...They must have stuffed themselves in eating orgies, they had to, their was no refrigeration and no telling when another mastodon might stumble into their paths...

...unlike today when all it takes is a trip to McDonalds to bring down a beast as large as a cow, with no more sweat equity than it takes to fork over a few bucks.

Which brings me to this thought;
I cannot blame the fast food industry for making delicious food or making people fat..as health is not their quest... the taking of profit is their mandate, and it is legal..forget moral obligations, they never cross the minds of those driven only by profit.

So my feelings are that it is an inherited biological imperative that we eat when food is abundant, and easy to obtain... that Primitive urges, aided by modern advertising methods move us subliminally to salivate at the appearance of the golden arches...

Under the disguise of modern fabrics, draped on us as clothing (instead of furs), still remains the vestige of our primal, glutinous selves...

__________ice
     ><>
­­
­

JoshG
Member
since 2004-11-16
Posts 127
TX, USA
29 posted 2004-11-26 02:41 PM


Im interested in this film, but my feeble attempts at finding it are coming up short.  Can someone email me direction on how to find this film?  Thanks,  Joshua

res0m50r@verizon.net

Alicat
Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094
Coastal Texas
30 posted 2004-11-26 02:52 PM


Check your local video store.  It was released on dvd/vcr a week or so ago.
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