What Happens When You Only Eat McDonalds For 30 Days

McDonald’s didn’t actually have salads at all locations in 2004. This documentary actually had an impact. They started offering healthier options, had to list the nutritional value, and got rid of super sizing.

Wow, 2004 seems like a lifetime ago. I remember when that doc came out. Also thank you Dr. Mike for pointing out that people with limited income are more likely to eat unhealthy food because it's usually all they can afford. When I was making $9/hr I would go to McD almost every day. One guy asked me why I'm always coming there and I said, "It's what I can afford". "Fair enough," he said.

I think one factor that really contributes to the popularity of fast food in the US is the low price point. Here in Poland fast food restaurants tend to be similarly priced to traditional restaurants and far more expensive than "home cooked" style joints. They're still fairly popular, but they're more of an occasional treat for most people (and i feel like other European countries share this sentiment)

I remember this ..I found it odd he never shared his food blogs. McDonald's stopped the super size but obesity hasn't gone away. The documentary was certainly eye opening.

I was literally forced to watch this for health last semester and I’ve really wanted Dr. Mike to react to this.

My cousin worked on this documentary. I can answer some of the questions you asked because I asked him many of the same ones. Bringing in the extra doctors and the dietician was seen as pointless by most of the production but it was decided that the viewer would take it more seriously coming from a larger group of professionals. The dietitian was there to outline what a healthy persons caloric intake would be to better highlight how awful this diet was. As for ordering a salad? It was 2004. There was barely any healthy options available.

Morgan Spurlock was also drinking heavily during the production of this documentary, which wasn't revealed until years later. Even he has admitted that his steady decline in health had WAAAY more to do with his drinking habit than his poor diet.

Spurlock was an alcoholic. He was asked if he ever abused alcohol by one of the doctors and he replied "No" and then a couple years ago he said he hadnt been sober for a week in over 30 years

I feel like the other thing that often gets glossed over when discussing this movie is that his wife at the time was a vegan, and he therefore ate mostly vegan for a long time leading up to the movie. So, not only did he change his eating habits in terms of fat, sugar, etc, but also with meat and dairy.

One thing not really touched on in your discussion of this documentary is that he also stopped exercising, which has a big impact on both the physical and mental health metrics he was talking about. He also seems to have been eating more during these 30 days than he normally would have. Not to defend McDonald's (I can't remember the last time I went to one, since I'm not a fan of the food), but his claims got a lot of pushback when this came out because he changed so many variables in his life at once.

I watched this in health class in 2009. We later learned that this documentary was partially responsible for the inclusion of calories and nutrition facts being placed out in the open in these places

I remember watching this as a kid (it was being shown to us for a class) and even though I was definitely a young child, I still felt like there was something about the entire thing that rubbed me the wrong way. Imagine a 9 or something year old kid literally asking something along the lines of "if the point is just to eat only mcdonald's when you're hungry, why eat THAT much" in their own way. It still rubs me the wrong way, but at least people know why now.

I remember having to watch this several times over the years after it came out because of health class. My biggest issue with it though is it doesn't explain how he went from being a vegan to eating McDonald's everyday for 30 days. That drastic change is going to cause all kinds of issues, including a lot of the symptoms he experienced early on.

For reference, this documentary was before Mcdonald's offered any comparatively healthy options like salad and was one of the major factors that led to their addition

I remember we had to watch this in High school health. The teacher was one of those very strict, judgy vegans (Like she could have been related to That Vegan Teacher). One of the few times I became kinda popular to my class I legitimately just asked her what this was supposed to teach us. Like...Everything in moderation is what I learned from doctors growing up. Like it's okay to eat junk but make sure you eat healthy things too. She was pushing "Fast food and meat bad! Look what happened to this guy!" She didn't like me very much.

Doctor Mike saves the day as always <3

I think a big thing to remember is that McDonalds was only just considering the health benefits of its foods when Supersize me came out. While some of the side-effects of Supersize Me were disproportionate and played up, it did lead to a wider conversation of what fast food places are providing. It certainly had a big impact in Australia, of all places, where McDonalds did a full 180 on its menu and actively tried to make things healthier. It's still not healthy, but it's better. A lot of the alternate options that Mike specifies came out after Supersize Me.

I'm glad he's still willing to talk about obesity in a negative way, and explain why it's an issue and that it is one to begin with. No one cares what you look like, we care whether you're going to die young or not.

Thanks doctor Mike I agree with the way of how you aboard the content of that documentary

We watched this in health class sometime in the early 2010s I don't remember much but that movie will always stick with me.