Supersize Me

We are now watching the movie "Supersize Me" in class.

I know that it has nothing to do with Earth Science and very little to do with Life Science, but I definitely try to show this movie every year. And every year it goes a little something like this.


1st day- (Sees mc donalds food)-"MMMMMMMMMMMM that looks great! I am starving!"

2nd Day- "Ughh how can he eat that much McDonalds? Gross"

3rd Day- "I am never going to McDonalds again."

Being a person of large stature, I love to show this and talk about how easy it is to let the weight pile on and how hard it is to come off. Morgan Spurlock (star of this documentary) decides to eat McDonalds everyday for everymeal for one month.

That is 90 straight meals at McDos!

It takes him one month to gain an incredible amount of weight and it took hime about 13 monthes to lose it!

Although this movie comes off as straight up McDonalds bashing, let me tell you, it is much more intricate than that. McDonalds is just a simple target that Morgan Spurlock shows as an example of what he calls the "toxic environment" that America is becoming.

What he means is that it is becoming easier and easier for children to buy food that is fatty, sugary, and not good for them. And not only that, the portions that the food comes in is, at the same time, ridiculous and insulting.

Although my students do not like it when I talk about what THEY should eat, I put in the context of this question. "What are you going to say to your child when they say 'I want a happymeal toy/ movie sized popcorn/ candy bar at the gas station'? "

The movie also gets into the many health risks that are associated with obesity at a young age. The list is endless and the sheer time devoted to this in the movie really grabs the attention of the kids.

Pair this with a full scene devoted to a gastric bypass surgery and students tend to grasp the weight of the issue.


Along with all of this, it is a fun movie that has some of the worlds greatest music and it moves along at a lightning quick pace (unless you have a teacher who wants to pause it every 30 sec to discuss the points.)


I highly recommend this movie to all 5 of you who read this blog. If you haven't seen it, go see it ASAP.

And take it from someone who has watched it about 30 times in class; you can watch it more than once and still get more and more out of it.

Parents: If you get a chance, ask your kids about the movie and what they got out of it. You can also ask them about the comparisons that were made in class between smokers and over eaters.