# Is McDonalds making a big mistake with ads that respond to the "Super Size Me" movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195 "2004-06-19T14:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/61 "2004-06-22T10:02:29Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > You really don’t want to go down this path, do you? There is no such thing as the “paranormal.” There is nothing there to “research.” Your fantasies about ghosts and vampires are on a completely different order of plausibility than what can be known about the effects of a high fat, high sugar diet on the human body. The latter can actually be tested and evalutaed empirically. Your werwolf stories cannot, Were you wasted when you wrote this post? You misspelled the dude’s name every time, and there are numerous other misspellings, such as “werwolf” here. Be that as it may, your wholesale mockery of the “paranormal” (I’m used to this by now; water off the duck) combined with a ludicrous credulity re Spurlock’s claims does not speak well of your reasoning abilities. > [@](#): > > There is nothing “rigged” about what Serlock does and during the course of this experiment he is being monitored by multiple doctors and a battery of tests at regular intervals throughout. Here’s the thing: HOW do I know that what I see is honest? You say there’s _nothing_ rigged. Where’s the skepticism regarding the claims the film is making? > [@](#): > > Medical data is collected constantly from start to finish. Before he started the doctors didn’t think the consequences would be that severe, by the end of the month they’re begging him to quit because they’re afraid he’s going to get liver failure. One doctor says that what he’s doing to his liver is akin to drinking himself to death. Again, how do I know that all this is honest? How do I know that he _isn’t_ drinking off-camera? Jeez, people say that Lekatt is dense in an argument–why do I have to keep repeating the same things to you? Why don’t you listen/read? > [@](#): > > Serlock never tries to draw any greater conclusions about what happens to him other that "this is what happened to _me_. The doctors are not so circumspect. OK, I repeat: The plural of anecdote is NOT DATA. Got it, Mr. Skepticism? > [@](#): > > And proof _is_ offered for each and every claim. Cool–I now know what you mean when you use the word “proof.” I now know never to take you seriously again when you use this term. > [@](#): > > What should I be skeptical about? Serlock backs up everything in the movie with ample medical evidence. HTF would you know unless you were a doctor or familiar with medical research. Not understanding skepticism is one thing; not even understanding the limits of your own knowledge is even worse. > [@](#): > > I find it far more implausible that he would engage a bunch of reputable doctors to lie on camera or that he would scretly find some way to poison his liver other than his diet (and in a manner that would be indistishable to multiple medical specialists from what would happen just from his diet) and what the hell could he do to himself that would be worse than the McDonalds food anyway? Oh, so your certain that they’re “reputable.” Did you research that? Do you even know how propaganda _works_? Good propaganda is not a Jack Chick tract. Good propaganda is built up on both truth and lies so that it’s convincing. > [@](#): > > I don’t even know what your point is. You don’t believe that junk food is really bad for you? That doesn’t surprise me. You have demonstrated a very casual attitude towards empirical reality on this board. I already said in a different post that junk food is indeed bad for you (as if you would bother to read what I write). My point is that the movie proves nothing and your arguments in favor of it are 100% horsesh\*t. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/62 "2004-06-22T10:41:05Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Not only that but much of it is actually chemically engineered to produce a drug reaction in the brain and a corresponding addiction. Cite, please. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/63 "2004-06-22T10:47:27Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I still don’t understand what the specific claim is. Sperlock didn’t really gain that much weight (about 25 pounds), it was the other health problems that were the issue. Since he ate nothing else but McDonalds what are you suggesting DID causehis liver damag and weight gain? A. He could have been drinking or using drugs. B. He could have congenitive ailments. C. He may have had an idiosyncratic reaction to the food that is unrelated to the wholesomeness of the food. Use your imagination. Be a real skeptic. > [@](#): > > I ask again, are all those doctors lying? is the entire crew involved with the film lying? Yes, these are the questions a skeptic should be asking. > [@](#): > > I don’t know what this little stalker wants but Sperlock owes her nothing. Since all of his data is rather thoroughly recorded and documented I see no reason to disbelieve him and I don’t see how the stalker’s alleged experiment proves anything about what happened to Sperlock. There you go; there’s healthy doubt and skepticism at work here. Nice rhetoric, too, about the “little stalker.” > [@](#): > > Sperlock _himself_ presents a person on camera who virtually lives on Big Macs and is completely thin and healthy. Why would he do that if he wanted to prove that McDonalds will _necessarily_ make anyone fat? I don’t know. What _is_ he trying to prove? What are is claims? What are _your_claims about his claims. You are making no sense. > [@](#): > > You have a very distorted view of what the movie is about. Why don’t you actually see it. I’m positive that after you watch it you won’t think that Sperlock is in any way unfair to McDonalds. the film is not a hatchet piece. No, but it’s propaganda, whose obvious takeaway is that, as you say, McDonald’s is “Satan” and genuinely awful for one’s health. Something must be done, there oughta be a law, just think of the children, etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/64 "2004-06-22T10:58:09Z")
Why is everything coming up italics, btw?! ---
**Author:** ![stringy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@stringy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stringy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/65 "2004-06-22T12:14:59Z")
In Australia, we’re getting bombarded with these ads from the CEO of McDonald’s Australia (15 times during the footy on Saturday night!). [Spitting chips - McDonald’s fights back](http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065034025.html?oneclick=true). (I’ve actually seen the doco, unlike some of the people in here criticising it on false premises). Some of the claims made by Russo (the CEO) in that article are pretty inaccurate. For instance, he says that “We believe, and have always believed, that McDonald’s can be eaten as part of a well-balanced diet. What Mr Spurlock set out to do, which was double his daily calorie intake, deliberately not exercise and over-eat, was totally irresponsible.” Well, as Spurlock found out when he called 100 nutritionists, no nutritionist recommends eating McDonald’s as part of a well-balanced diet. He didn’t deliberately double his calorie intake, it’s just what happens when you eat nothing but McDonalds, and that’s not too far away from what some people do. His exercise was reduced to that of the average American, because it’s average, normal Americans who are eating McDonalds. He only had 3 meals a day, no snacks, so he wasn’t over-eating. Again from the article:"‘We’ve been taking the issue of obesity seriously for a few years now,’ he said, referring to the introduction of salads, nutritional labelling and low-fat breakfasts." A few years now? The salads and low-fat breakfasts were introduced in Australia late last year, and the labelling only started a couple of months ago. Last Thursday the late news on Ch. 10 had a sound-bite from Russo: he said they’d made the ad because “loyal customers of McDonalds” had told them to stand up for themselves. Poor multi-billion dollar corporation, being picked on by a guy who uses them as a gimmick to get people to watch his documentary about obesity and it’s causes. My heart bleeds for them. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/66 "2004-06-22T12:53:12Z")
A small hijack: I was inspired by this thread to email McDonalds and complain that my local store has chosen not to stock apples. I believe they are the healthiest (and cheapest) item available, and was disappointed that our local McDonalds got rid of them less than a year after they were introduced, especially at a time where they’re trying to “health up” their image. Today I got a phone call from the manager of the local store to say that because of my email they were going to put apples back on their menu. Yay me! I didn’t think of it at the time, but the manager said they originally found they weren’t selling enough of them and he hated throwing away all the uneaten apples. I should have asked him why he didn’t just include a free apple in Happy Meals if the stock pile looked like it wasn’t going to move. He was just going to throw them away anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/67 "2004-06-22T13:01:56Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Why is everything coming up italics, btw?! You failed to close your italics tag. > [@](#): > > Were you wasted when you wrote this post? Uh. ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/68 "2004-06-22T13:03:57Z")
Let me preface this by saying I have not seen SuperSize Me yet, so I will not comment on Spurlock’s experiment. The one thing that he has mentioned in interviews I have read and I don’t think many people know about is that our schoolchildren are being fed crap with little nutritional value in school. My wife is an elementary school teacher and she has been saying the same thing for years. Back when I was in grade school the food was not that great, but at least they gave me vegetables or mashed or baked potatoes or something. A typical school lunch is now a Cheeseburger, French Fries, Soda, and a Cookie. Or Pizza, Soda, and Ice Cream. Seriously, the school dieticians consider ketchup a vegetable. And some people wonder why so many kids are on drugs to calm their moods. THEY ARE EATING TOO MUCH F\*\*\*ING SUGAR! No wonder they are hyper and cannot focus. As an aside, I am now in my early 30’s and my metabolism is slowing down, which is typical for men my age. I recently changed jobs to a cubical position where I have a 1 1/2 hour drive to and from work and a 1/2 mile walk to work from the parking garage and 1/2 mile back to the car, but I pretty much sit in one place all day. I put on 30lbs in about a year and realized that I needed to change my diet and habits. I started doing workouts in the morning, and I cut soda out of my diet and instead I drink mostly water during the day and at dinner, with the occational alcoholic beverage to break up things. I have lost 15lbs. in 6 months. I was able to figure out I needed to change something in my life to provide for better health, for some of my fellow Americans who need a kick in the butt, hopefully this movie can provide it. It is a selfish wish, I want to sit next to more people who can fit into the airline seats on domestic flights and not spill over into my seat. 🙂 ---
**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 22, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/69 "2004-06-22T14:27:52Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > > > I still don’t understand what the specific claim is. Sperlock didn’t really gain that much weight (about 25 pounds), it was the other health problems that were the issue. Since he ate nothing else but McDonalds what are you suggesting DID causehis liver damag and weight gain? > > A. He could have been drinking or using drugs. > B. He could have congenitive ailments. > C. He may have had an idiosyncratic reaction to the food that is unrelated to the wholesomeness of the food. Not to mention that he was consuming 5000 calories per day and not getting much exercise. Any food can cause problems when eaten in excess, Spurlock chose McDonald’s. I’d like him to consume 5000 calories worth of Gardenburgers a day for a month and see what happens. > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > You have a very distorted view of what the movie is about. Why don’t you actually see it. I’m positive that after you watch it you won’t think that Sperlock is in any way unfair to McDonalds. the film is not a hatchet piece. > > No, but it’s propaganda, whose obvious takeaway is that, as you say, McDonald’s is “Satan” and genuinely awful for one’s health. Something must be done, there oughta be a law, just think of the children, etc. etc. **Aeschines** makes some good points. I have no idea what **DtC** is reading to think that **I** have a distorted view of the movie, my beef is with Spurlock himself. [James K. Glassman](http://www.techcentralstation.com/bioglassmanjames.html) [really](http://www.techcentralstation.com/032504F.html) has a beef with [Spurlock](http://www.techcentralstation.com/052704G.html). ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/70 "2004-06-22T15:13:16Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > You failed to close your italics tag. Nope. ALL threads below a certain level are in italics. Not just mine. It looks normal on preview, too. I have also seen other threads recently that are all bold, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Haniver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jenny\_Haniver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Haniver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/71 "2004-06-22T16:47:05Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I saw the movie today. It does make a pretty powerful statement about the toxicity of junk food. > > He did a lot more than gain weight, BTW. He also poisoned his liver, got intense heaches, heart palpitations, chest pains and a plethora of other problems. Ok, I haven’t seen the movie, nor am I a doctor, but I wonder - wouldn’t the other health problems be mostly a result of putting on so much weight so quickly, rather than a testament to the “toxicity” of the food? I mean, he gained about 26 pounds, right? That’s almost _a pound a day_. That rate of weight gain would have to strain your heart and liver, regardless of how you were going about putting on the weight, wouldn’t it? Do the doctors in the movie mention this at all? On Topic, McD’s is certainly giving this movie a lot of free publicity. However, I have long thought the push for everything to be super-sized was a revolting marketing ploy - they pretend it’s a good deal because it’s only $.30 more, but really they’re just giving you more of the stuff they can afford to give away in quantities a single person can’t reasonably finish. Saying yes everytime to the super-size deal is, I think what really screwed the pooch for the filmmaker’s health, so if the OzD’s don’t even do the super-sized thing, then they’d be right to be kinda ticked off about it. He was probably eating a pound a day just in extra french fries. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/72 "2004-06-22T19:13:49Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Why is everything coming up italics, btw?! Italics tag fixed, italics all gone. Not sure why the following posts got italicized; I’ll leave that for the Boffins to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/73 "2004-06-22T23:42:14Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > McDonalds food is Satan. It’s no use defending it. I will give you that “McDonalds food is Satan”. However, you realize that there are people who worship Satan, people who believe Satan is evil, and people who do not believe Satan exists. All these people do their own thing WRT Satan. Why not let people have nutritional freedom also? ---
**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 23, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/74 "2004-06-23T00:28:44Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > I will give you that “McDonalds food is Satan”. However, you realize that there are people who worship Satan, people who believe Satan is evil, and people who do not believe Satan exists. All these people do their own thing WRT Satan. > > Why not let people have nutritional freedom also? Who said anything about restricting anyone’s nutritional freedom? I don’t care what anyone else eats. The movie is just a warning about personal responsibility. I do think that as a society we’ve gotten pretty irresponsible about what we feed our kids, though. There is no reason on earth that pop machines need to be in school cafeterias, much less the selection of crap that is paid for with tax payer dollars. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/75 "2004-06-23T00:44:57Z")
Soso Whaley isn’t the **only** person who’s run a personal experiment to eat only at McDonalds for a month and lost (or maintained) weight: [http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.921/healthissue\_detail.asp](http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.921/healthissue_detail.asp) : > [@](#): > > On April 1, [Mr. Chazz Weaver] began eating all his meals — four or five per day — at McDonald’s. He ate upwards of 3,000 calories per day and after two weeks had lost eight pounds (yes, lost). Since he didn’t particularly want to lose weight, Weaver then increased his food intake to about 5,000 calories per day and managed to gain back about two pounds by the end of the month. His cholesterol improved, his blood pressure dropped a bit, and he says he feels just fine. How did he do it? Weaver works out at a gym daily — about an hour and fifteen minutes per day — split between aerobic exercise and resistance training. He was in good shape before he began his McDiet and remained so throughout. Anyone who wishes to do so can check the numbers for themselves at his website, [www.truthinfitness.org](http://www.truthinfitness.org). It’s an impressive testimonial to the importance of staying physically active. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/76 "2004-06-23T01:11:31Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > A. He could have been drinking or using drugs. > B. He could have congenitive ailments. Either of which you would think would come up or be discovered in the numerous physicals he took during the making of the movie, and would have shown up on camera. > [@](#): > > No, but it’s propaganda, whose obvious takeaway is that, as you say, McDonald’s is “Satan” and genuinely awful for one’s health. Something must be done, there oughta be a law, just think of the children, etc. etc. Explicitly not so. The point of the film is consumer awareness of how food is marketed. Again his final point is **food will only get healthier when we demand 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 23, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/77 "2004-06-23T01:16:24Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Soso Whaley isn’t the **only** person who’s run a personal experiment to eat only at McDonalds for a month and lost (or maintained) weight: > > [http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.921/healthissue\_detail.asp](http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.921/healthissue_detail.asp) : Once again, this experiment was not within the parameters of what Sperlock did. He deliberately restricted himself from exercising more than the average American. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/78 "2004-06-23T03:21:17Z")
[quote=Aeschines] A. He could have been drinking or using drugs. B. He could have congenitive ailments. C. He may have had an idiosyncratic reaction to the food that is unrelated to the wholesomeness of the food. Use your imagination. Be a real skeptic. [quote] Okay. D. Spurlock never gained any weight at all. In fact, he lost weight. He only appeared to gain weight due to trick editing. The movie was essentially shown backwards. E. Morgan Spurlock is an agent of Burger King on a mission to destroy the competition. F. Morgan Spurlock is a werewolf and the all-McDonald’s diet is harmful to werewolf physiology, but fine for humans. G. McDonald’s doesn’t exist. It’s just an imaginary boogyman of the liberal media. There’s difference between healthy skepticism and absurd stubbornness. For anyone who still doesn’t get it, Spulock’s point (presented with humor and wit) is that eating a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar diet and avoiding exercise is not a healthy way to live. Many companies spend vast amounts of money advertising unhealthy foods and much of that advertising is aimed a children. Additionally, many people eat this kind of stuff on a regular basis, even in school cafeterias. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/79 "2004-06-23T03:29:30Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > There’s difference between healthy skepticism and absurd stubbornness. And that dividing line is entirely subjective. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195/80 "2004-06-23T06:03:41Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > For anyone who still doesn’t get it, Spulock’s point (presented with humor and wit) is that eating a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar diet And “high carb.” Can’t forget high carb. Carbohydrates are the trendy thing to blame weight problems on these days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-making-a-big-mistake-with-ads-that-respond-to-the-super-size-me-movie/251195.md?page=5)