Controlling Food Consumption: Why It Hits Home

Morgan Spurlock in Super-Size Me

            Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film, Super-Size Me (2004), showed Americans nationwide the effects of eating only McDonald’s for three meals per day for thirty days. Spurlock created this film to help show people the detrimental backlashes eating fast food on a regular basis does to ones’ body. His efforts paid off as the documentary was popular both nationally and internationally, earning $11,536,423 in total gross income. However, something more strict and permanent than a movie needs to be implemented in order to strike change in people’s eating habits.

            It is known that obesity is a nation-wide problem, therefore to take a more in-depth look at the situation, it is important to view it at a state level. Let’s take Illinois for an example: It is estimated that if the citizens of Illinois actively try to reduce their obesity rate which is currently at twenty seven percent, then Illinois alone can save more than nine billion dollars in ten years and $28 billion in twenty years. This being the case, along with many other states nationally, it is in our nation’s best interests to regulate the food supply in order to provoke not only healthiness within our nation but also to hinder the costs of money associated with health problems caused by obesity some of which being high cholesterol, type two diabetes, and heart disease.

            In comparison to other nations, it is apparent that America is the most obese country in the world. This often comes at no surprise due to America’s use of artificial flavorings being so prevalent in the food marketplace. These artificial flavorings are often filled with high fructose corn syrup and other substances that cause one to gain weight. This combined with the daily lifestyle of some Americans having jobs in which they are stationed at a desk, not moving around a whole lot, and not exercising has no positive effects on ones’ health. On the contrary, citizens in other counties that are perhaps less developed have the duty of manual labor that is often times strenuous on one’s body because it causes one to be moving day after day. The fact that these citizens are getting daily exercise in addition to them not being exposed to artificial flavorings found in modified foods can cause for one to never gain additional weight.

            Tying the knots of this problem together, it is important for America to shed its’ image of being the fattest country in the world in order for it to still be a powerful country. The current “lazy” image of our nation is not doing any good, therefore it is essential for the government to act now, and start regulating the food supply, rather than later so that America does not become even more “fat.”