Supersize Me

Supersize Me finally opened in Dundee, and my GF and I went to see it. Morgan Spurlock is no Michael Moore, as far as film-making talent is concerned, but it's hard to deny that it's full of compelling evidence as to the long-term health risks posed by fast-food. The problem is that the premise is essentially flawed... almost anything, if done to excess, is going to be dangerous. There are few 'anti-stair' activists, but I could, given the desire to push myself beyond what is physically healthy, do serious damage to myself with nothing more than a set of steps.

Of course fast-food is unhealthy - this isn't a secret. Of course eating nothing but MacDonalds for a month is going to have health implications - really, nothing new is being said here. However, the actual extend of the health effects, in this one particular case, are pretty stunning. Therein lies the other problem - sure, there are a lot of obese people features in the film, but the only direct link we get to Maccy D is the film-maker himself. The evidence is interesting, the presentation is compelling, but ultimately it is statistically irrelevant.

But aside from that, it's worth seeing - just don't fall into the trap of thinking that it's showing you more than it's actually showing you.