1. SUPERSIZE ME DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) HOW MANY AMERICANS EAT A MEAL IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT DAILY?
2) IN GENERAL, WHAT IS MORGAN’S HEALTH STATUS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROJECT?
3) WHAT EFFECTS DO THE DOCTORS THINK THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE ON MORGAN?
4) WHAT ARE MORGAN’S STARTING WEIGHT & BODY FAT PERCENTAGE?
5) HOW MANY CALORIES SHOULD MORGAN EAT EACH DAY TO MAINTAIN HIS WEIGHT?
6) HOW MANY CALORIES DOES MORGAN EAT EACH DAY ON HIS MCDONALD’S DIET?
7) HOW MANY STEPS IN A MILE OF WALKING?
8) HOW MANY STEPS DOES AN AVERAGE OFFICE WORKER TAKE IN A DAY?
9) HOW MANY STEPS DOES MORGAN LIMIT HIMSELF TO?
10) HOW MANY MCDONALD’S ARE THERE IN MANHATTAN?
11) WHAT ARE MORGAN’S RULES FOR THIS PROJECT?
12) WHAT WAYS DOES MCDONALD’S MARKET DIRECTLY TO CHILDREN?
13) HOW MANY SLICES OF BREAD DOES 1 BAGEL EQUAL?
14) HOW MANY CALORIES IN A SUPERSIZE FRIES?

2. 15) HOW MANY CALORIES IN A SMALL FRIES?
16) WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE RATE OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN & TEENS IN THE US IN RECENT YEARS?
17) WITH OUR CURRENT DIET, 1 IN 4 AMERICANS WILL DEVELOP WHAT DISEASE?
18) WHAT ARE THE LONG TERM IMPACTS IF A CHILD DEVELOPS DIABETES BEFORE AGE 15?
19) HOW DOES MORGAN FEEL AFTER HIS FIRST SUPERSIZE MEAL?
20) ONE OF THE SCIENTISTS INTERVIEWED REFERS TO US EATING IN A “TOXIC ENVIRONMENT.” WHAT DOES HE MEAN?
21) WHAT IS THE FATTEST STATE? CITY?
22) HOW MUCH WEIGHT DOES MORGAN GAIN IN 5 DAYS?
23) WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF MORGAN’S FIRST BLOOD TESTS?
24) WHY IS THE HEALTH OF MORGAN’S LIVER THAT DECLINES THE MOST DURING THE PROJECT?
25) ON DAY 21, WHAT DO MORGAN’S DOCTORS TELL HIM TO DO? WHY?
26) WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF MORGAN’S FINAL WEIGH IN?
27) HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE MORGAN TO LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT HE GAINED DURING THE PROJECT?

3. THE DOCUMENTARY

4. •STARRING: MORGAN SPURLOCK
•RELEASE DATE: MAY 7, 2004
•BUDGET: $65,000 (PRODUCTION) & $1 MILLION
(ADVERTISING)
•BOX OFFICE: $20,641,054 WORLDWIDE (12TH HIGHEST-
GROSSING DOCUMENTARY OF ALL TIME)
•NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BUT LOST TO THE FILM “BORN
INTO BROTHELS” (ABOUT THE CHILDREN OF
PROSTITUTES IN INDIA)

5. THE EXPERIMENT
February 1 to March 2, 2003
30 DAYS

6. THE RULES
•Must fully eat three McDonald's meals per day (breakfast, lunch,
and dinner).
•Must consume every item on the McDonald's menu at least once.
(he managed this in nine days).
•Must only ingest items that are offered on the McDonald's menu,
including bottled water.
•He must Super Size the meal when offered (he is not able to Super
Size by his own accord).
•He will attempt to walk about as much as a typical U.S citizen,
based on a suggested figure of 5,000 standardized distance steps
per day.

7. THE REASONS FOR THE EXPERIMENT

8. 1) TO EXPLORE THE INCREASING SPREAD OF
OBESITY THROUGHOUT U.S. SOCIETY, WHICH
THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DECLARED AN
“EPIDEMIC.”
2) TO EXPLORE THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY’S
CORPORATE INFLUENCE, INCLUDING HOW IT
ENCOURAGES POOR NUTRITION FOR ITS OWN
PROFIT.

9. MORGAN’S PRE-EXPERIMENT HEALTH

10. •AGE: 32
•WEIGHT: 185.5 POUNDS
•BODY FAT: 11%
•TOTAL CHOLESTEROL: 168 (LESS THAN 200 IS
EXCELLENT)
•FITNESS: ABOVE AVERAGE FOR HIS AGE GROUP

11. THE TARGET

12. •WORLD’S LARGEST CHAIN OF HAMBURGER FAST FOOD
RESTAURANTS (OVER 31,000 RESTAURANTS WORLDWIDE).
•SERVING NEARLY 58 MILLION CUSTOMERS DAILY IN 119
COUNTRIES.
•GENERATED OVER $24 BILLION IN REVENUE IN 2010.
•FOUNDED IN 1940 BY RICHARD & MAURICE MCDONALD AS
A BBQ RESTAURANT.
•IN 1948 THEY CHANGED FROM BBQ TO A HAMBURGER
STAND.
•IN 1955 RAY KROC BOUGHT THE FRANCHISE FROM THE
BROTHERS & OVERSAW ITS WORLDWIDE GROWTH.
•THE MCDONALD’S HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX
(MCDONALD’S PLAZA) IS LOCATED IN OAK BROOK,
ILLINOIS.

13. MANHATTAN
•MORE MCDONALD’S (83) IN MANHATTAN (22.4 SQUARE MILES) THAN ANYWHERE
ELSE IN THE WORLD
•NEARLY 4 PER SQUARE MILE
•TWICE AS MANY MCDONALD’S THAN BK’S
•MORE MCDONALD’S THAN KFC, WENDY’S, POPEYE’S, & TACO BELLS COMBINED.

14. BIG MAC: INSIDE THE MCDONALD’S EMPIRE

15. OBESITY IN AMERICA

16. THE FILM’S STATISTICS
•AMERICA IS FATTEST NATION IN THE WORLD.
•NEARLY 100 MILLION AMERICANS ARE EITHER OVERWEIGHT OR
OBESE.
•MORE THAN 60% OF US ADULTS ARE EITHER OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE.
•SINCE 1980 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF OBESE & OVERWEIGHT
AMERICANS HAS DOUBLED.
•TWICE AS MANY CHILDREN & 3 TIMES AS MANY ADOLESCENTS ARE
OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE THAN IN 1980.
•400,000 DEATHS/YEAR ARE A RESULT OF OBESITY RELATED
ILLNESSES.
•MORE THAN 60% OF AMERICANS DO NOT GET ANY EXERCISE.

17. TODAY’S STATISTICS
•58 MILLION AMERICANS ARE OVERWEIGHT.
•40 MILLION AMERICANS ARE OBESE.
•3 MILLION AMERICANS ARE MORBIDLY OBESE.
•8 OUT OF 10 25+ YEAR OLDS ARE OVERWEIGHT.
•60 MILLION AMERICANS 20+ YEAR OLDS ARE OBESE.
•9 MILLION CHILDREN & TEENS (6-19) ARE OVERWEIGHT.
•78% OF AMERICANS DO NOT MEET BASIC ACTIVITY LEVEL
RECOMMENDATIONS.
•25% OF AMERICANS ARE COMPLETELY SEDENTARY.

18. FATTEST STATE IN AMERICA (FILM)
MISSISSIPPI
1 IN 4 PEOPLE ARE OBESE

19. FATTEST STATE IN AMERICA (2011)
MISSISSIPPI (6TH YEAR IN A ROW)
34.4% ARE OBESE
34.8% HAVE HYPERTENSION

20. FATTEST CITY IN AMERICA (FILM)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN