What would happen if you ate nothing but food from McDonald’s three times a day for thirty days straight? You probably don’t want to know …

Morgan Spurlock just made his first film entitled Super Size Me, which addresses this question. Intrigued by the two women who sued McDonald’s for causing their obesity, Spurlock came up with what he called ”a great bad idea.“ That is, Spurlock decided to travel around the country from McDonald’s to McDonald’s to eat their food three times a day for a month. Before he began, Spurlock visited three different doctors, who all agreed that he was in excellent health. Once he began his all-McDonald’s diet, Spurlock visited these doctors every few days. Not surprisingly, he quickly gained weight. And on day 21, he began having heart palpitations, and all of his doctors, family members, and girlfriend insisted that he had proven his point and needed to stop before something terrible happened. But he continued his all-McDonald’s diet until day 30, as planned. When all was said and done, he had gained over 25 pounds and was incredibly ill. It wasn’t until two months after he ended his ”diet“ that Spurlock returned to good health (though there were still four-and-a-half pounds that he could never get rid of).

Spurlock’s film, which is both hilarious and deeply unsettling, hasn’t been released yet. But thanks to the fanfare and attention it has gained at the Sundance, Colorado Comedy Arts, and SXSW film festivals,  Super Size Me is already having an impact on McDonald’s (though McDonald’s executives have repeatedly refused to speak with Spurlock).  Just recently, McDonald’s announced that it is phasing out super-size options by the end of 2004.

Spurlock, not surprisingly, is ecstatic about the impact that his film is having on the world’s largest fast food chain. But his battle isn’t over. When I spoke with Spurlock yesterday, he said his plan is to get his film out to educational settings so that children, who are often targeted by fast food marketing campaigns, can learn just how dangerous their fast food addictions can be. By doing so, Spurlock believes he can help put in motion the combination of personal responsibility and corporate responsibility necessary to help people worldwide battle the obesity epidemic, which is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of death  in the U.S. If you’re still skeptical of the power of film or the adverse effect fast food can have on your body, make sure you see Super Size Me when it arrives in theaters around the country in May.

Laura Nathan-Garner