# Diogenes the Cynic, it's not about the fucking movie! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 24, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042 "2004-06-24T16:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/41 "2004-06-25T01:56:12Z")
No, it’s apparently about another fucking personal attack so that we don’t have to evaluate the fucking claims of the person so attacked in an objective fucking manner. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/42 "2004-06-25T02:05:40Z")
No, I’ve just had enough of people bringing up the movie. I thought that would be obvious from the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/43 "2004-06-25T02:16:57Z")
> [@holmes](#): > > The guy said he was trying to recreate what the average person does. The average person doesn’t excerise as much he did before the movie, so he reduced his activity. The average person does do some exercise, and the average person does not consume 5,000 calories a day. Either Spurlock hasn’t a fucking clue what the “average” person is like, or he’s dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/44 "2004-06-25T02:22:26Z")
Oh, now I get it. **bughunter** , if you thought “People tend to see/hear/read only what they want to see/hear/read.” was about you, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/45 "2004-06-25T02:31:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The average person does do some exercise, and the average person does not consume 5,000 calories a day. Either Spurlock hasn’t a fucking clue what the “average” person is like, or he’s dishonest. He went by what nutritionists in the movie told him was average for exercise and he did not go over that. He didn’t get absolutely no exercise at all, he just limited it. He tended to burn up his allotted amount of exercse per day just by walking to and from the McDonalds. He did not claim that his calorie intake was average, but it was not unusual either. Why don’t you watch the fucking movie, douchebag, before you start spewing your ignorant fucking douchebag opinions about who is or isn’t honest? Why is it that not one person who is trying to assasinate Spurlock’s character has actually seen the fucking move? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/46 "2004-06-25T02:31:47Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > How many times to I have to say it’s not about the _fucking_ movie!? Yes, you’ve said it already. And I can still ask if any of the critics have seen the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/47 "2004-06-25T02:35:54Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Why don’t you watch the fucking movie, douchebag, before you start spewing your ignorant fucking douchebag opinions about who is or isn’t honest? **RickJay** , please ignore this part of my post. It was too over the top and unwarranted as a response for what you said. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/48 "2004-06-25T02:48:18Z")
My 1st impression is that this guy is a nutjob. Anyone who eats junk food morning, noon and night deserves whatever evils befall him. But I _am_ going to see the film. With a healthy dose a skepticism. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/49 "2004-06-25T02:54:20Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > But I **am** going to see the film. With a healthy dose a skepticism. IMHO, not enough people who watch the film do so with a healthy dose of skepticism. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/50 "2004-06-25T03:14:30Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > He did not claim that his calorie intake was average, but it was not unusual either. I found this number cited in a lot of websites with a little googling, but here’s [one](http://www.fortune.com/fortune/information/Presscenter/0,,01222003SS,00.html). > [@](#): > > the USDA estimates that the average American consumes roughly 2,750 calories per day Other websites had estimites going as high as 3700 calories per day. But, suffice to say, 5000 calories per day is fucking ridiculous. He has to have chosen that number because it _is_ unusal— it’s extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/51 "2004-06-25T04:23:36Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > I found this number cited in a lot of websites with a little googling, but here’s [one](http://www.fortune.com/fortune/information/Presscenter/0,,01222003SS,00.html). > > Other websites had estimites going as high as 3700 calories per day. But, suffice to say, 5000 calories per day is fucking ridiculous. He has to have chosen that number because it _is_ unusal— it’s extreme. This last paragraph is a little misleading. the 2750 calories per day include women and children, as your source states > [@](#): > > the USDA estimates that the average American consumes roughly 2,750 calories per day-a full Big Mac beyond its recommendation of 2,220 calories for most children, teenage girls, active women and sedentary men. So, putting a child in a 2750 calories per day would be even more dramatic and extreme than putting an adult in a 5000 calories per day diet. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/52 "2004-06-25T04:25:16Z")
…maybe I misunderstood the article (the wording in that paragraph is a bit confusing. If so I will stand corrected and apologize in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/53 "2004-06-25T05:54:52Z")
I haven’t seen the movie, but the juxtaposition of average amounts of exercise with an obviously un-average amount of calories bothers me, from what I’ve read about it. If he were to eat at McDonald’s three times a day _and_ exercise enough to burn off all those calories, _that_ would be interesting. We could see just how much time he has to spend running on a treadmill, pumping iron, or Dance Dancing for each Big Mac he eats. As it is, apparently all we see is that you can get fat by eating a ridiculous amount of food and going out of your way not to walk very much. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/54 "2004-06-25T06:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > **the USDA estimates that the average American consumes roughly 2,750 calories per day-a full Big Mac beyond its recommendation of 2,220 calories for most children, teenage girls, active women and sedentary men.** > So, putting a child in a 2750 calories per day would be even more dramatic and extreme than putting an adult in a 5000 calories per day diet. I think it says that the average adult consumes 530 more calories than is recommended, and that number is equal to one Big Mac. A Big Mac is 530 calories?? ONLY 530 calories??? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/55 "2004-06-25T06:05:19Z")
Yes, but in ‘average American’ it seems to include women, children, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/56 "2004-06-25T06:26:48Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I think it says that the average adult consumes 530 more calories than is recommended, and that number is equal to one Big Mac. > > A Big Mac is 530 calories?? ONLY 530 calories??? Most of the calories didn’t come from the burgers but from all the carbs and sugar in the fries the pop (the giant, supersize pops dumped a ton of sugar into his body, the milkshakes, even stuff like the yogurt and the salads. it was interesting that the yogurt and salads turned out to be two of the most high fat, high calorie selections on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/57 "2004-06-25T06:34:06Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > A Big Mac is 530 calories?? ONLY 530 calories??? [Six-hundred calories](http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.item.5.html), actually. Close enough, I say. > [@](#): > Here’s another [site](http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPrint/EMIHC000/333/341/373955.html?hide=t&k=basePrint) that says: > [@](#): > > According to the National Institutes of Health, the average American **adult** consumes between 1,800 and 2,500 calories per day. I can’t vouch for the site’s reliabilty, of course. However, even without cites I think it would be obvious that consuming 5000 calories per day is _far_ from normal. I don’t think I could do it if I tried. But then, I don’t stand to gain millions by making a movie of it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/58 "2004-06-25T06:49:35Z")
Can I ask where this 5000 calorie figure came from in the first place? I seem to remember that the film only said it was like 3000 calories. The only source for this 5000 number that I can find is John Stossel, who is far from a reliable source. Does anyone have an actual cite for _Spurlock_ claiming that he ate 5000 calories a day. I’m sorry but I’m not taking the word of a douche like Stossel. He’s like a really stupid version of Bill O’Reilly. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/59 "2004-06-25T07:09:19Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Does anyone have an actual cite for _Spurlock_ claiming that he ate 5000 calories a day. From the movie’s [website](http://www.supersizeme.com/home.aspx?page=archived/05_21_04_thetrades): > [@](#): > > Five days in, he’s consuming an average of nearly 5000 calories a day… Not Spurlock’s words, but as he includes the review on the movie’s site and it is a favorable review, I assume it’s not trying to defame him. [This review](http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/s/super_size.html), which was put up in May, also includes the figure, and is favorable to the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042/60 "2004-06-25T10:21:25Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Can I ask where this 5000 calorie figure came from in the first place? I seem to remember that the film only said it was like 3000 calories. The only source for this 5000 number that I can find is John Stossel, who is far from a reliable source. Does anyone have an actual cite for _Spurlock_ claiming that he ate 5000 calories a day. > > I’m sorry but I’m not taking the word of a douche like Stossel. He’s like a really stupid version of Bill O’Reilly. Um, the source was Spurlock. His mouth was moving when he talked to Stossel. I suppose that in your state of desperation, you could claim that the editors computer-generated it or something. Whatever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-its-not-about-the-fucking-movie/252042.md?page=4)