Super Size Me Page #3

John Banzhaf

is currently spearheading

the attacks

against the food industry,

advising many of the lawyers

who are currently

going through the process.

People say he's crazy,

but that's what

they used to say about him

when he first sued

the tobacco companies...

until he won.

I think in terms

of responsibility,

it's fair to point

the big gun at McDonald's.

McDonalds is

one of the biggest

but, more importantly,

it is the one which,

far more than all the others,

lures in young children.

They have the playgrounds,

the closed, indoor playgrounds.

Many places,

there are no other playgrounds.

You've got to

take your kid there.

So even at 2 and 3 and 4,

those kids are being

lured into there.

McDonalds is very heavy

on birthday parties.

They, of course,

pioneered the happy meals,

now the mighty kids' meals also

with those little

"gotta have 'em" toys.

So they get the kids in.

And, of course, the whole clown.

McDonald's has the clown.

A lot of those ads

appeal primarily to kids.

There's a cartoon on TV

which features him.

So they, more than others,

lure the kids in.

I think all of us are far more

concerned about the kids.

Another man

who is worried about the kids

is Samuel Hirsch.

He represents the two girls

who are suing McDonald's,

with much advisement

coming from professor Banzhaf.

Why are you suing

the fast-food establishment?

You mean motives besides

monetary recompensation?

You mean you want

to hear a noble cause?

Is that it?

I think that fast foods

are a major contributor

to this epidemic.

In 2000, Dr. David Satcher

became the first surgeon general

to draw attention

to the obesity crisis,

declaring it

a national epidemic.

Now, remember,

we're super-sizing everything.

You go to any fast food store,

and they're trained to tell you

to buy a bigger size.

For five cents more,

you can get the super size.

Federal government

will define a piece of meat,

three ounces of meat,

as a sensible portion,

and that looks like

a deck of cards.

Few people would be able

to find this deck of cards

if they were served a piece of

meat, a steak, in a restaurant.

It would probably be about

four or five times this size.

One typical bagel

that one is eating

that looks something like this

is going to comprise

five servings of bread.

When fast food companies

first opened,

they generally

introduced one size.

For example,

one size French fries

when McDonald's first opened,

called "fries."

that size fries

is now called "small."

Medium, large, and super size.

That original size

is still here.

It's got about 200 calories.

but the super size is gonna

pack in over 600 calories.

When Burger King first opened,

they had a 12-ounce small

and a 16-ounce large.

This 12-ounce is now kiddy.

The 16-ounce is now the small...

the medium, the 32, and the 42

and this is across the board

with all fast-food places.

Cars have introduced

larger cup holders

to accommodate those huge

7-eleven double gulps,

which are 64 ounces,

a half gallon,

and hold anywhere

from 600 to 800 calories,

depending on how much ice

you put in.

A half-gallon of soda?

A half-gallon of soda

for one person,

48 teaspoons of sugar.

Hello, may I help you?

Yeah, could I get

the double quarter pounder

with cheese meal?

Large or super size?

I think I'm gonna

have to go super size.

Look at that.

look at that coke.

That barely fits in there.

Oh, sh*t!

Ive got a -- look at that.

look at how big that thing is.

Look how big that French fry is.

That thing is,

like, four feet tall.

Double quarter pounder

with cheese.

More calories than anything.

There it is --

a little bit of heaven.

That's a lot of food, man.

Ill tell you what...

You get

all that super sized stuff,

that stuff gets super sized, man...

Look at that.

I just put a --

Im not even halfway done

with those fries.

Not even halfway.

This is like a workout.

See, now's the time of the meal

when you start getting

the McStomachache.

You start getting the McTummy.

You get the McGurgles in there.

You get the McBrick.

And then you get

the McStomachache.

Right now I got some McGee

that's rockin'.

Are you sweating there?

My arms -- I feel like

I got some McSweats going.

My arms got the McTwitches

going in here

from all of the sugar that's

going in my body right now.

Im feeling a little McCrazy.

Just give me a minute.

I'm in pure McDonald's Heaven.

This is gonna be you,

like, after every meal.

Im dying.

God,

that looks so nasty.

It's making me puke.

You all right?

Yeah.

I believe we live

in a toxic-food

and physical-inactivity

environment.

That is,

we live in an environment

that almost guarantees

that we become sick.

Not 100% of people become sick,

but the numbers of people who do

are growing

and growing and growing.

I don't believe that "toxic"

is too strong a word, either,

because an epidemic of obesity

where 60% of the population

is suffering

and record numbers

of children are having this

is a crisis by any standard.

The toxic environment

is constant access

to cheap, fat-laden foods.

It's gas stations that sell

more candy and sodas than gas.

It's a nation where there

are more than 3 million

soda vending machines.

That's one

for every 97 Americans.

It's a world where people depend

completely on their cars

for transportation

and where walking

has become such a chore

that we rely on machines

to do it for us.

My stomach

feels horrible this morning.

It doesn't feel good at all.

There we go.

Im getting this really weird

feeling right in my midsection,

basically in my penis right now,

and it's just like this --

It's really freaky.

That is very odd.

Yeah.

It could be

from the caffeine,

but I couldn't really

pinpoint that 100%.

I have a delivery for Mr. Morgan.

$13.39.

$13.39.

I made it

over the three-day hump.

You know

how when you quit smoking --

I don't know how many of you

out there smoke cigarettes,

but you should stop.

I quit smoking.

and there's the three-day hump.

Three-day --

it's the three-day hump

when you quit

smoking cigarettes.

If you can make it

over those three days

without smoking one cigarette,

if you can make it past day one,

day two, day three, you're fine.

Same thing with this.

I made it past day three.

Im all right.

Left unabated,

obesity would overtake smoking

as the leading preventable cause

of death in this country.

I was at this meal,

and it came up

that one of the people

was a smoker,

and somebody else at the table

started hectoring them about it.

"What's the matter with you?

"Don't you know

how bad it is for you?

"It'll do this, that,

and the other thing to you,

and you really should stop."

And the smoker,

rather than saying, "f*** you,

mind your own business" --

Which, I think,

is the appropriate response --

was abashed and defensive.

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